F1 Qualifying Results at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix

Who took pole for the final Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort?

McLaren Racing

Lando Norris beat the Zandvoort weather to secure pole position for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion will start the final race at Zandvoort ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, who were both over a tenth away from the McLaren driver.

Late rain threatened to bring qualifying to a lackluster ending, though the track conditions remained sufficient for improvements in what was a grandstand finish.

F1 Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying 2026: Q1 Results

A little excursion for Lewis 😮

He locked up heading into Turn 1 and bailed out into the gravel #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/pE2laTIcht

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 22, 2026

With the rain that fell at the end of the sprint giving way to sunshine for qualifying, the first session was a story of track evolution as drivers plugged laptimes in across the 18-minute segment.

Lewis Hamilton was the first to explore the limits of the track with a lock-up at Tarzan, running wide into the gravel on the outside of Turn 1.

As the session drew to a close, it was clear the final laps were the most important as the track surface improved, with the bottom six changing all the time.

Carlos Sainz improved with his final lap but was unable to escape the drop and will line-up 17th, ahead of fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who had been 12th with a minute left on the clock.

The two-time champion was two-tenths faster than Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll, who starts alongside Haas' Oliver Bearman on the penultimate row of the grid, while Valtteri Bottas led Sergio Perez for the second day in a row in the battle of the Cadillacs.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Q2 [s]
17	Carlos Sainz / Williams	+0.018
18	Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+0.098
19	Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+0.266
20	Oliver Bearman / Haas	+0.274
21	Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac	+0.819
22	Sergio Perez / Cadillac	+1.048

F1 Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying 2026: Q2 Results

Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

The big question heading into Q2 was whether Red Bull could scrape into the top 10, having been only 12th and 14th in Q1.

Concerns only grew with Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson, standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar, just ninth and 10th after the first runs of the second 15-minutes, albeit with laps set on used soft tires.

But four-time champion Verstappen allayed those fears by going provisional third with his next lap and confirming safety. Lawson, however, could muster just eighth, leaving an anxious wait as rivals crossed the line.

But with nobody finding the time needed to reach Q3, the Kiwi went through, with Pierre Gasly leading those to fall out of qualifying.

The Frenchman was just under a tenth adrift of the cut-off mark set by Arvid Lindblad and will line up alongside Yuki Tsunoda, back in F1 to cover for Lawson at Racing Bulls, on the sixth row of the grid.

Nico Hulkenberg was 13th for Audi ahead of Franco Colapinto, who hasn't received the same upgrade package as Gasly in the sister Alpine, while Esteban Ocon in the Haas and Alex Albon in the Williams failed to make an impression.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap to Q3 [s]
11	Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+0.091
12	Yuki Tsunoda / Racing Bulls	+0.102
13	Nico Hulkenberg / Audi	+0.172
14	Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+0.175
15	Esteban Ocon / Haas	+0.612
16	Alex Albon / Williams	+0.657

F1 Dutch Grand Prix Qualifying 2026: Q3 Results

Umbrellas starting to go up in the grandstands

Can anyone get another lap in? #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/0jqXpdoMwJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 22, 2026

Q3 was a sprint to get laps on the board with rain sweeping in off the coast, forecasted to hit with five minutes left of the 12.

Norris was fastest of all on the first flying lap, with sprint pole and race winner Russell splitting the two McLarens in second - Piastri third.

Charles Leclerc was three-tenths off in fourth but ahead of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, while Hamilton's struggles continued as he found himself almost eight-tenths off Norris and behind both Red Bulls.

Teams quickly got to work on preparing for the final runs in case there was time to get back on track and beat the rain.

The desperation was clear for Russell, who left the garage behind both McLarens. He overtook Piastri at pit exit before trying to overtake Norris on the run to Turn 5.

But rain began to fall as the final laps began, and fans began to don ponchos in the grandstands. It wasn't heavy enough initially, though, with improvements across the board through sector one.

Gabriel Bortoleto was first across the line to move up to eighth before Antonelli went fastest. That was short lived as Norris retook provisional pole, while Russell could only take second.

That was the top three, with Piastri unable to improve upon fourth. Leclerc improved to fifth and ahead of home favorite Verstappen, only for Hamilton to jump ahead of both with his best effort of the day.

Lawson was eighth in the Red Bull, ahead of Bortoleto and Lindblad.

Position	Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1	Lando Norris / McLaren	1:11.163
2	George Russell / Mercedes	+0.102
3	Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.133
4	Oscar Piastri / McLaren	+0.142
5	Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes	+0.331
6	Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.395
7	Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.455
8	Liam Lawson / Red Bull	+0.570
9	Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi	+0.916
10	Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls	+1.022