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Welcome to Total-Motorsport.com for live coverage of the Sprint Race at the 2026 Dutch GP, as F1 returns to Zandvoort for Saturday’s 100km contest. George Russell will lead the field away from pole after edging Lando Norris in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri completing the second row. Kimi Antonelli starts fifth for Mercedes, home favourite Max Verstappen lines up sixth for Red Bull with Lewis Hamilton starts seventh for Ferrari. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has ground to make up if he is to challenge for the maximum eight points available to the Sprint winner. The grid already set, but the possibility of showers also adds an unpredictable element potentially altering the battle at the front as Russell holds the all-important track position. Find how how it unfolds below: F1 2026 Dutch GP Sprint Race LIVE: Latest News and Updates RESULTS: How they finished up in Zandvoort George Russell converted Sprint pole into victory at the 2026 Dutch GP, leading Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris home at Zandvoort on Saturday. More from the Dutch GP Catch up with Total Motorsport’s latest Dutch GP coverage, including George Russell’s Sprint victory at Zandvoort, the full Sprint classification, Max Verstappen’s McLaren comments, Mercedes’ driver relationship outlook, and Lando Norris’ push for improvement. The Mercedes driver controlled the 24-lap race from the start to claim his third Sprint victory of the season, eventually beating Leclerc by 1.360 seconds. Find out the full results below: | Pos | Driver | Team | Time | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | Leader | | 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +1.360 | | 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +5.196 | | 4 | Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +5.581 | | 5 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +10.185 | | 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +10.529 | | 7 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +12.188 | | 8 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +42.510 | | 9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | +44.437 | | 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | +44.971 | | 11 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | +47.471 | | 12 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | +54.466 | | 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls | +56.483 | | 14 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | +66.098 | | 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | +66.588 | | 16 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +74.632 | | 17 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +74.650 | | 18 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +75.284 | | 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 1 lap | | 20 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 1 lap | | 21 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 3 laps | | 22 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 17 laps | Norris admits McLaren have no pace in Zandvoort Even with overtake mode and a Mercedes engine, Lando Norris proved unable to pass George Russell at the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint Race despite sitting on his gearbox for much of it. Eventually the tyres began to slip away and he fell into the clutches of Charles Leclerc and was demoted to third, where he then had to defend from Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes too. He just held on, but it was not an encouraging performance for him nor teammate Oscar Piastri could progress against the front runners – so what does Norris make of it on Saturday? “Not a bad result, not the best,” Norris admitted to F1 TV. “Would have been nice to have been a little bit faster today, but Charles was just too quick. I don’t think it was the tyres, just that we lacked pace. “We’re not quick enough and we have some work to do. We’re very good in high-speed, the cars just not performing to the level it needs to in the slow-speed corners. There’s not a lot we can do. “I think we’re optimising a lot of things. It’s still a good result. We have to be happy with the progress we’ve been making, but we need more. We’ll see what we can do. We’ll work hard. “The team are working hard already, so hopefully we can do a better job.” Leclerc didn’t expect to pass Norris in Sprint Race Charles Leclerc was the only one of the drivers who managed to make a move after the lights went out, as the Monegasque star nipped by Lando Norris to claim second for Ferrari. The 28-year-old had just enough juice in the battery to make the move and it was a bit of a headscratcher as the Mercedes-powered Kimi Antonelli never managed to follow through after. And even Leclerc reveals he didn’t expect to make the pass later in the race on the softs, but it just managed to come together for him as he adds seven points to his championship haul. “I knew Lando didn’t have much deployment on the main straight,” Leclerc recalled to F1 TV. “So I knew I had to maximise that. “But we still arrived at the braking point more or less at the same level and it worked out. I did not expect to gain a position at the end of the race with the softs. “If anything it was at the start, but I didn’t have a good start.” Russell had chasing pack covered in Dutch GP Sprint Race George Russell looked to be under modest pressure throughout the Sprint Race from Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, but the McLaren and Ferrari never managed to challenge the leader. Eventually the Mercedes came home 1.3 seconds ahead of Leclerc just as the rain began to fall as he crossed the line at Zandvoort to win the Dutch GP Sprint Race – but Russell says all was under control. “A great start to the weekend,” Russell told F1 TV. “If there was one more lap it would have potentially been a very different end to the race, so I was glad the rain came when it did. “The Ferraris look really fast, so it’s going to be a tight one this afternoon. I knew if there were going to be any overtakes, they were going to be towards the end of the race. “So, I knew I just wanted to manage my tyres a bit through the high-speed corners and have a bit more in the tank come the end of the race. “I knew if Charles got past Lando at all, he would be fast. As soon as I saw Charles behind, I dropped the hammer a little bit and the two of us pulled away.” CHEQUERED FLAG: Russell wins Dutch GP Sprint Race George Russell takes the chequered flag ahead of Charles Leclerc by 1.3 seconds and in the nick of time as torrential rain begins to fall the moment he crosses the line! The Mercedes man expertly controlled the race and never came under any serious pressure from the chasing pack behind across the 24 laps in Zandvoort. Lando Norris finishes third for McLaren after doing just enough to hold off the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, who had a look on the final lap but thoguht better of it. Lap 23/24: Norris doing enough to hold off Antonelli? Drivers can get close to the car ahead but it doesn’t seem as though they can find the chance to make an overtake, even with the extra energy boost. And that’s the situation that Kimi Antonelli finds himself in after chasing down Lando Norris’ McLaren for the better part of this Dutch GP Sprint Race. Is Norris keeping just enough pace to hold the Italian off? Lap 21/24: Verstappen sets up Piastri Max Verstappen has now nipped away from Lewis Hamilton and opened the gap to over a second to the Ferrari behind, so he can focus fully on Oscar Piastri. The McLaren ahead hasn’t seemed fast throughout this Sprint but the Red Bull hasn’t managed to find a way through, despite closing to within eight tenths almost every lap. Will we see a traditional divebomb from the Dutchman to delight the home fans? Lap 19/24: Russell leads as Hamilton challenges Verstappen George Russell now has to keep one eye on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc behind as the Monegasque driver now replaces Lando Norris and clsoes to within 1.3 seconds in Zandvoort. Lando Norris is now looking to hold off Kimi Antonelli behind as the defending world champion’s McLaren looks to repel the championship-leading Mercedes. And Lewis Hamilton is close behind Max Verstappen for Ferrari, but he hasn’t managed to get close enough to make a move on the Red Bull yet. Williams report Level 1 rain could be due on the final lap! Lap 18/24: Leclerc takes second as Sainz DNFs Carlos Sainz started from the pit lane, spent the race in 20th and now comes into the pit lane to DNF for Williams on a disappointing start to the day for the Spaniard. At the same time, his former teammate at Ferrari takes second place as Charles Leclerc goes to the inside of Lando Norris in Turn 1 and gets the position! Norris has been struggling for grip for a while and now has to give way, leaving him vulnerable to Kimi Antonelli behind. Lap 15/24: Antonelli playing a patience game in Zandvoort Kimi Antonelli could make a lunge on Charles Leclerc if he really wanted to, the Mercedes sitting in fourth and within a second of the Ferrari ahead. But the 19-year-old is showing maturity beyond his age as he bides his time and waits to see if Leclerc will cause any fireworks with McLaren’s Lando Norris. The Italian is perhaps waiting for the tyres to fall away, and doesn’t want to take the risk of a DNF with a half-in move. Lap 13/24: Verstappen sizing up Piastri As mentioned, Oscar Piastri also seems to be struggling for pace and grip in the Netherlands as he slips back towards the clutches of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen! The Australian is now four seconds away from the battle for second and Lewis Hamilton is also closing in on the MCL40 for Ferrari behind Verstappen too. These final few laps are going to be tough for the 25-year-old. Lap 11/24: Russell puts his foot down George Russell has been told his tyres are in a good state and he can now begin to open up the gap to the cars behind, as immediately breaks away from overtake mode. Lando Norris is slipping back towards Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari with Kimi Antonelli close behind as the defending world champion begins to struggle with his rears… And it’s a multi-car problem as Oscar Piastri in the sister McLaren is also losing touch in terms of pace too. Lap 8/24: The Top 4 are glued to each other! The gap from George Russell as the leader to Kimi Antonelli in fourth is under three seconds in Zandvoort as the battle at the front gets very interesting. Russell’s Mercedes leads Lando Norris by around a second, with Charles Leclerc in third for Ferrari and Antonelli closing out the Top 4 in the other Silver Arrow. Any one of the drivers could win this race. Lap 6/24: Hulkenberg OUT of Sprint Race A bad Sprint Race is already over for Nico Hulkenberg as he comes into the pits to retire from this Dutch Grand Prix event, quickly wheeled into his garage. That leaves Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth as the only remaining Audi as he looks to get ahead of Pierre Gasly for a singular championship point in Zandvoort. Sergio Perez is also back into the race for Cadillac as he looks to gather data for the team. Lap 5/24: Hamilton pressuring Verstappen Max Verstappen and Red Bull do not seem particularly fast at the moment as the four-time world champion has already fallen to be two seconds away from Oscar Piastri ahead. The McLaren is already checking out away from the Dutchman, who is also under pressure from his old rival Lewis Hamilton behind in the Ferrari. Red Bull look as though they’re in no man’s land this weekend. Lap 3/24: Russell leads by a second There’s a little bit of cat-and-mouse going on at the front as George Russell leads Lando Norris by one second in Zandvoort, but the McLaren can’t make a challenge. Does the Mercedes driver have the Formula 1 world champion covered? Or is Lando biding his time and waiting for the right moment? LIGHTS OUT: Antonelli gets ahead of Piastri It’s all rather pedestrian into Turn 1 as all of the grid get a good launch into the opening corner with only the McLaren of Oscar Piastri losing a position. He drops behind Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes into fifth, and the Italian seems fast as he also has a look at Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari but thinks better of it! TOP 8: Russell, Norris, Leclerc, Antonelli, Piastri, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly. FORMATION LAP BEGINS It’s almost time to go for the Sprint Race at the Dutch Grand Prix, as we get 24 laps of racing action and the drivers do not need to make a pit stop! Charles Leclerc and Oliver Bearman start on the softs for Ferrari and Haas respectively, but everyone else is on the medium-compound tyre. It’s George Russell on pole as Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso start from the pit lane, with the Cadillac of Sergio Perez heading into the pits too. Mercedes hold vital track position element Mercedes have the strongest starting position heading into the Sprint, with George Russell on pole after narrowly beating Lando Norris in Sprint Qualifying. The front-row position gives Russell an excellent opportunity to control the opening phase and fight for the maximum eight points whilst teammate and title rival Kimi Antonelli starts fifth. The Italian may not be capable of moving forward with some uncertainty over his pace, which could give Russell some momentum in the developing title battle. McLaren look to lead into Turn 1 McLaren are ideally positioned to challenge Mercedes, with Lando Norris starting second and Oscar Piastri fourth, placing the papaya cars to attack the Silver Arrow of George Russell. Norris was only 0.041 seconds away from pole, suggesting there is very little separating the two teams over a single lap and Piastri also has a clear opportunity to join the battle at the front, particularly if the drivers ahead begin fighting each other. McLaren’s two-car presence inside the top four gives them options during the Sprint to put pressure on Russell from multiple directions and a victory is certainly within reach. Can Ferrari win the Sprint Race? Ferrari have Charles Leclerc starting third, putting the Monegasque directly into the fight for the Sprint victory and he should be close enough to attack the leading pair if an opportunity emerges during the opening laps. Lewis Hamilton has a more challenging starting position in seventh, meaning Ferrari’s overall result could depend on how effectively he can progress through the field. The narrow nature of Zandvoort could make that difficult, particularly if the leading cars maintain similar pace. Nevertheless, Ferrari should expect both drivers to be capable of scoring points. Can Red Bull recover in Sprint Race? Red Bull face a more uncertain Sprint after Max Verstappen qualified sixth and Liam Lawson 11th on a difficult Friday for the team in Zandvoort. Verstappen remains the team’s obvious chance of challenging near the front, particularly with the support of his home crowd, but Friday’s practice performance suggested that the RB22 still has weaknesses around Zandvoort. Starting sixth nevertheless gives Verstappen an opportunity to gain places immediately off-the-line, especially if the cars ahead begin battling. Lawson has a tougher task from outside the top 10 and will need a strong opening lap to put himself into contention for points. Welcome to the Blog! Welcome to Total-Motorsport.com for the Sprint Race at the Dutch GP as George Russell leads the field from pole at Zandvoort with Lando Norris close behind! Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri occupy the second row on the run to Turn 1 with all eyes are on the opening racing action of the weekend across 24 laps. Will Russell hold on for Mercedes, or will we see a surprising winner?