The McLaren driver clocked a 1:11.163 to secure the top spot in a tense conclusion, edging Mercedes’ George Russell by around a tenth of a second. Kimi Antonelli completed a strong qualifying session for Mercedes in third, with the Italian also finishing within striking distance of the pole time.

Norris’ decision to head back out for one final attempt proved decisive as the weather conditions deteriorated. With the track becoming increasingly difficult, the Briton managed to put together a clean lap when it mattered most and denied Russell the chance to secure his third P1 of the weekend.

Lando Norris. Photo: X

Oscar Piastri had looked like the driver to beat for much of the session, but the Australian ultimately had to settle for fourth on the grid. The McLaren driver had shown impressive pace throughout qualifying, only to fall short when the final times were set.

Ferrari occupied the next two positions, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Charles Leclerc sixth. Max Verstappen was seventh for Red Bull, while Liam Lawson put together an encouraging performance to qualify eighth, finishing relatively close to Verstappen.

Gabriel Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10.

GHOST ?? CAR!

There wasn't much in it between George Russell and Lando Norris ??#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/NVMvC3jIJF

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 22, 2026

Pierre Gasly narrowly missed out on a place in Q3, ending the session less than a tenth of a second outside the top 10. The Alpine driver qualified ahead of former teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who returned to the grid and ended the session 0.102s behind the lead Racing Bulls car.

Nico Hulkenberg secured 13th for Audi, followed by Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Alex Albon.

Carlos Sainz endured another frustrating qualifying session, being eliminated in Q1 by just 0.022s to teammate Albon. The Williams driver will start 17th, ahead of Aston Martin pair Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who again struggled to extract the maximum from their upgraded power unit.

Haas’ Ollie Bearman was 20th, finishing behind his teammate and ahead of Cadillac drivers Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

The pressure had been high heading into qualifying after Russell’s impressive Sprint victory earlier in the day. The limited changes in the running order during the 24-lap Sprint had underlined just how important qualifying position would be for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

With less than a tenth separating the top four in Friday’s Sprint Qualifying, another closely fought battle was expected.

?? LIGHTS OUT IN #F1SPRINT! ??

Watch the race start ??#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/tqMdUWJLyh

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 22, 2026

The opening phase of Q1 initially saw Racing Bulls reserve driver Tsunoda move to the top on soft tyres before the Ferraris and Red Bulls quickly improved. Hamilton briefly led with a 1:13.406 before Norris and Piastri immediately raised the benchmark.

Russell then moved into second, while Hulkenberg and both Racing Bulls produced strong laps to put themselves inside the top 10.

Hamilton briefly found himself in trouble after locking up at Turn 1 and running into the gravel, but recovered to improve to second. At the other end of the standings, Bortoleto faced an unexpected fight to escape the drop zone after an error compromised his lap.

George Russell. Photo: X

Ultimately, Sainz, Alonso, Stroll, Bearman, Bottas and Perez were among those eliminated, while Albon, Ocon and Bortoleto managed to find enough pace to progress.

As the rain clouds gathered over Zandvoort, the stakes only grew higher. Norris handled the pressure best of all, delivering when it mattered most to put McLaren at the front for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix.

Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix gets underway at 15:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek dg