Norris beats Russell to Dutch GP pole

Lando Norris beat Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli to pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix in a hectic end to qualifying. <p>Rain threatened to cause an anticlimax to qualifying but the track remained dry enough for the McLaren and Mercedes drivers to battle it out for top spot, with Norris edging out Russell by 0.102s and championship leader Antonelli by 0.133s.</p><p>Oscar Piastri was just 0.142s off in fourth in another tight session - a continuation of the trend throughout the Sprint weekend at Zandvoort - and sets up a fascinating race on Sunday when the lights go out at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on <em>Sky Sports F1</em>.</p><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13572005/dutch-gp-2026-sprint-weekend-dates-schedule-weather-uk-start-time-and-how-to-watch-or-stream-f1-race-at-zandvoort-live-on-sky-sports">Dutch GP: UK schedule and how to watch on Sky Sports</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/standings">F1 2026 standings</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/schedule-results">F1 2026 calendar</a> | <a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog/12433/12466779/f1-news-rumours-and-gossip-formula-1-latest-updates-on-teams-driver-transfer-market-and-contracts">F1 Gossip Column</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://qrcode.skysports.com/skysports/ContentPromo" target="_blank"><strong>Download the Sky Sports app for expert analysis, best video & more</strong></a><strong>\ud83d\udcf1</strong></li><li><strong>Not got Sky? </strong><a href="https://www.sky.com/tv/sports?dcmp=Ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>Latest Sky Sports deals</strong></a><strong> or </strong><a href="http://www.nowtv.com/membership/watch-sky-sports?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink" target="_blank"><strong>stream F1 with no contract</strong></a> <strong>\ud83d\udcfa</strong></li></ul><p>Norris won the last race before the summer break but is 90 points behind championship leader Antonelli, who opened up a 53-point lead in the title race following Saturday's Sprint as his closest challenger Lewis Hamilton struggled in the short race.</p><p>Russell won the Sprint and will look to make further inroads into his 56-point deficit to Antonelli, while Hamilton has work to do after only qualifying fifth.</p><p>The Ferrari drivers were the last to complete their laps in Q3 but they did not have the speed to challenge at the front. However, Hamilton outpaced Charles Leclerc for the first time in a competitive session this weekend.</p><widget id="4"></widget><p>Red Bull have also been disappointing at Max Verstappen's final home event - with the Dutch Grand Prix falling off the calendar after this year. Verstappen qualified seventh behind Leclerc and only one tenth ahead of Liam Lawson, who has replaced Isack Hadjar at Red Bull this weekend after the Frenchman suffered a wrist injury last week.</p><p>Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto continued his strong performances in ninth, as did Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad in 10th while his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda qualified 12th.</p><p>Aston Martin would have been expecting more from their engine and aerodynamic upgrades but both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll went out in Q1 in 18th and 19th.</p> <widget id="2"></widget><h3>How Norris saw off Mercedes challenge</h3><p>Norris was pessimistic about his qualifying chances after being overtaken by Leclerc late in the Sprint on his way to third and pointed out McLaren's slow-speed corner weaknesses as something that was not solvable this weekend.</p><p>The team made some setup tweaks ahead of qualifying which gave both drivers more confidence as Piastri topped Q1 and Norris Q2.</p><p>Norris set the time to beat after the first Q3 runs with a 0.151s advantage over the field and the grid was under threat of being set as rain was on the way.</p><p>Everyone went out for their last efforts earlier than normal and the track remained dry enough for drivers to improve, so Antonelli briefly took pole position before Norris delivered a stunning lap which Russell was unable to beat.</p> <widget id="5"></widget><p>"A little surprised, honestly. Just a decent lap. I was pushing because you have seen how close it is and one hundredth, two hundredths can make a big difference in the end," said Norris.</p><p>"But just a good turnaround from earlier today where I felt like we struggled a little bit. We felt very strong so the team did a good job, so credit to them on trying to get a little bit more out of the car.</p><p>"We had to try something because what we had before wasn't going to be enough. So we made some small changes, nothing that wasn't going to make us gain two tenths or one tenth even, but enough to maybe give me a bit more confidence. I felt like I could do that more today and it paid off."</p> <widget id="6"></widget><p>Ferrari's new floor has not brought them any closer to the front but they could still be a threat in Sunday's race as Leclerc had impressive tyre degradation in the Sprint.</p><p>But, overtaking is set to be difficult so Ferrari will likely need to try something different strategically to get in among the McLaren and Mercedes battle.</p><p>Hamilton told <em>Sky Sports F1</em>: "I feel optimistic. Fifth is not the greatest but it could be far worse, so I'm grateful to be there but of course I wish I was up further ahead."</p><p>"However, our race pace was good in the Sprint. Charles had good race pace and the car is in a better place</p><p>"Hopefully with the right strategy and right execution I think hopefully we can challenge the cars ahead."</p> <widget id="3"></widget><h3><a href="https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/13572005/dutch-gp-2026-sprint-weekend-dates-schedule-weather-uk-start-time-and-how-to-watch-or-stream-f1-race-at-zandvoort-live-on-sky-sports" target="_blank">Sky Sports F1's live Dutch GP schedule</a></h3> <widget id="1"></widget><p><strong>Sunday August 23</strong><br />9.35am: F1 Academy Race 2<br />10.50am: Porsc...