Lando Norris once again took pole position and will start from first place in the last Dutch Grand Prix to be held at Zandvoort. The McLaren driver secured his second consecutive pole after also achieving it in Hungary.
George Russell, winner of Saturday's Sprint race and polesitter for that competition, once again showed great performance and took second place, 102 thousandths behind Norris. Kimi Antonelli completed the front row for Mercedes by finishing third, 133 thousandths behind the Briton. For Norris and McLaren, this is also an opportunity to extend their recent dominance at the circuit, following Lando Norris's win in 2024 and Oscar Piastri's in 2025.
The starting position will have special importance at Zandvoort. Of the 35 Formula 1 races held at the circuit, 27 were won by a driver who started from the front row. The combination of a short, narrow track with numerous corners leaves very little room for overtaking, so getting a good starting position can be decisive for Sunday's race.
Q1 began with several teams trying to take advantage of the medium tires used during the Sprint, before gradually moving to the softs in search of better times. The circuit's particularity also allowed drivers to complete many laps, as, being a short track, battery management is not as significant a difficulty as on other tracks on the calendar.
Alpine arrived at qualifying with eight new upgrade elements installed exclusively on Pierre Gasly's car. The Frenchman had shown good performance during the Sprint, and all eyes were on whether the new features could keep the team ahead of his teammate Franco Colapinto.
The session also had several tense moments. Lance Stroll lost one of his times for exceeding track limits, while Lewis Hamilton suffered a heavy lock up and ended up going off track. Gabriel Bortoleto also came close to an accident after momentarily losing control of his car, although he managed to correct it before reaching the barriers.
Pierre Gasly was also placed under investigation for a possible unsafe release. The Alpine driver left the pits in a situation that almost caused contact with an Audi traveling down the pit lane. The stewards will analyze the maneuver after qualifying.
The fight to get through the first cut was very tight. Alexander Albon managed to advance to Q2 by a minimal margin, leaving his teammate Carlos Sainz eliminated in another complicated weekend for Williams. Along with the Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Oliver Bearman, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez were also eliminated.
The second session went by with fewer incidents and a somewhat more predictable picture. George Russell had a track exit after a heavy lock up at the first corner, while Hamilton again suffered a lock up on a weekend where driving errors and track exits became a constant. The Briton had received changes to his car and still could not find the necessary balance to fight for the front positions.
The big surprise in Q2 was Gasly's elimination. After having shown competitive pace in the Sprint and being the only Alpine equipped with the new eight upgrade package, the Frenchman could not translate that advantage into qualifying. He was eliminated along with Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hülkenberg, Franco Colapinto, Esteban Ocon and Alexander Albon.
The result once again raises questions within Alpine about the real effectiveness of the new features introduced this weekend. Gasly barely managed to beat his teammate by just over two thousandths during the session, but neither of the two managed to get into the top ten.
Qualifying then arrived at a Q3 marked by meteorological uncertainty. A warning about the possibility of rain during the final five minutes led the ten drivers to go out on track quickly to avoid being affected by a possible change in conditions.
The tension increased even before the first laps were completed. Max Verstappen referred to his maneuver at the pit exit and made a particular warning over the radio: "We'll probably have George crying on the radio about the pit exit, but it wasn't unsafe" in an ironic tone, showing his bad relationship with the British driver.
The drivers completed their first times and immediately returned to look for a second fast lap. The possibility of rain forced them to take advantage of every available minute and not leave the result in the hands of a track that could change quickly. It was in this context that Norris managed to make the difference. The Briton set the fastest time and secured his second consecutive pole, while Russell once again placed Mercedes on the front row after a Saturday that had already been perfect for the team with the Sprint win. Antonelli will start third, once again completing a positive qualifying for Mercedes.
Sunday's race will also have a historic component. Zandvoort prepares to bid farewell to Formula 1 and will do so with Norris on pole, accompanied by Russell and Antonelli. The Briton will seek to repeat his 2024 victory, while McLaren will try to achieve its third consecutive win at the circuit after Piastri's triumph in 2025. Before that, Max Verstappen had dominated the first three editions of the modern era, winning in 2021, 2022 and 2023. With so little room to overtake and a front row that historically offers a huge advantage, qualifying may have defined much of Sunday's result. Norris will have the opportunity to close Zandvoort's last story in Formula 1 from the most privileged place of all: pole position.
