George Russell Narrows the Gap at Zandvoort as Charles Leclerc Brings the Magic and Fernando Alonso Shows Green Shoots

It could have been a race from a bygone era, but the rain arrived too late. George Russell has won the Sprint race at Zandvoort with ease, as the rain only began to pour heavily when he had just a couple of corners left to cross the finish line. In the dry, no one had even dared to cough at his Mercedes.

After Friday’s fiasco, Saturday brings hope for Fernando Alonso. He was the driver who made the most overtakes, and his pace was genuinely promising. Still, he could not rise beyond a bland eighteenth place, but the speed shown provides reason for optimism for the rest of the Dutch weekend.

Carlos Sainz had to start from the pits

George Russell has had no rival in Zandvoort. The British driver took victory comfortably from pole in a race in which the rain arrived too late, when the leader only had a couple of corners left to cross the finish line. If it had rained a couple of laps earlier perhaps a different outcome would have occurred.

Because Charles Leclerc was inspired. The Ferrari man was the only one to start on soft tires, and he squeezed them hard. He suffered little degradation and was able to pass on track Lando Norris. He was 1.5 seconds behind Russell, but could not close the gap. If it had rained earlier, and with a softer compound, the race could have been his.

Kimi Antonelli manages to minimize the damage. The World Championship leader finished fourth after overtaking Oscar Piastri at the start, and pressing in the final laps on a Norris who ran out of pace, but salvages a podium. The best for Antonelli is that he extends his lead in the world championship, because Lewis Hamilton finished only seventh.

In front of Hamilton slipped Max Verstappen, who finishes sixth at home and is the only Red Bull in the points zone, as Liam Lawson dropped to eleventh. Neither he, nor Yuki Tsunoda nor Arvid Lindblad managed to grab the final point. That privilege went to Pierre Gasly, eighth with Alpine and breaking a two-race drought without scoring.

As for Fernando Alonso, he started last but there are green shoots. As in Hungary, the Aston Martin has once again shone in race pace. If they manage a decent qualifying, they will be candidates for points. Alonso is the driver who has overtaken the most on track and has climbed up to eighteenth, not pushing hard at the end with Lance Stroll.

Things went worse for Carlos Sainz, who treated the Sprint as a test from the start. So much so that he started from the pits, and then made an extra stop to adjust a few settings. As a result, Sainz finished the race lapped. The only retirement of the day was Nico Hülkenberg’s Audi due to technical problems.

Sprint results Formula 1 Dutch GP 2026

General Formula 1 Standings

1st. Kimi ANTONIELLI (Mercedes-ITA), 224 points

2nd. Lewis HAMILTON (Ferrari-GBR), 171 points

3rd. George RUSSELL (Mercedes-GBR), 168 points

4th. Charles LECLERC (Ferrari-MON), 145 points

5th. Lando NORRIS (McLaren-GBR), 136 points

Images | Williams, Mercedes