Russell wins Zandvoort Sprint, but McLaren and Ferrari keep Mercedes driver honest

George Russell returned from F1’s summer break with a victory at the Dutch Grand Prix Sprint, with the Mercedes driver converting his pole position into a race win.

The Briton won the 24-lap race ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.

George Russell wins Dutch Grand Prix Sprint

There was drama even before the formation lap as Max Verstappen and Yuki Tsunoda were noted for failing to follow the Race Directors’ instructions on their way to the grid. It related to their delta time, but would only be investigated after the Sprint.

The drivers lined up on a chilly Zandvoort grid with George Russell on pole position ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. Only 19 drivers took to the grid with Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso starting from the pit lane, while Cadillac pushed Sergio Perez into the pits with a problem.

Russell made a good start to lead the 24-lap race ahead of Norris and Leclerc, the latter all over the McLaren’s rear wing. Kimi Antonelli shot up to fourth place ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen. Liam Lawson held onto 11th place in his first race back with Red Bull, while Tsunoda lost a position to Franco Colapinto.

Perez left the pit lane three laps into the race, which had become a test session for the Mexican driver and Cadillac.

Although Russell broke free of overtake mode on Lap 1, Norris reeled him in to run seven-tenths behind the Mercedes driver by Lap 6. Norris, meanwhile, was under threat from Leclerc, who in turn had Antonelli on his rear wing. The quartet was separated by three seconds.

Nico Hülkenberg retired from the race on Lap 6, with Audi reporting “some issues with power but investigating”. Carlos Sainz joined the list of drivers under investigation, cited for a “starting procedure infringement – out of position at the Safety Car line”.

Mercedes gave Russell the go-ahead to push, having managed his pace in the opening laps. He quickly broke out of overtake mode, building up a 1.6s lead that dropped Norris into the clutches of Leclerc and Antonelli.

Behind them, Piastri led Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly in the figth to finish inside the points.

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Sainz joined Hulkenberg on the DNF list as he parked his Williams 17 laps into the race.

Leclerc made the first overtake from any driver inside the top 10 on Lap 18, taking the inside line against Norris into Turn 1 to snatch second place. Antonelli didn’t waste any time closing on Norris’ McLaren.

A rain warning was issued for the final lap or two, however, Red Bull told Verstappen it would not arrive before the end of the 24 laps.

Antonelli challenge Norris into Turn 1 on the final lap, but the McLaren driver held his nerve to stay ahead of the championship leader.

Russell clinched the victory as the rain began to fall at the Zandvoort circuit, but only by 1.3s ahead of Leclerc with Norris in third place.

Lawson was 11th for Red Bull, with Tsunoda in P13 on his return to the grid.

Dutch GP Sprint result

1 George Russell Mercedes – winner
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +1.3s
3 Lando Norris McLaren +5.1s
4 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +5.5s
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +10.1s
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull +10.5s
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +12.1s
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine +42.5s
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +44.4s
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +44.9

The full results from Sprint race at Zandvoort

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