What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in the Netherlands

(opens in a new tab)Sign InSubscribeF1ScheduleResultsStandingsDriversTeamsF1 UnlockedOpen menuFIA if(window.f1MobileDetection.iOSSafari) { var meta = document.createElement("meta"); meta.name = "apple-itunes-app"; meta.content = "app-id=835022598, app-argument=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/what-the-teams-said-sprint-day-and-qualifying-in-the-netherlands-2026.1vJ9dLmIstL3qivbyY0OEu.1vJ9dLmIstL3qivbyY0OEu"; document.head.appendChild(meta); } {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/what-the-teams-said-sprint-day-and-qualifying-in-the-netherlands-2026.1vJ9dLmIstL3qivbyY0OEu","url":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/what-the-teams-said-sprint-day-and-qualifying-in-the-netherlands-2026.1vJ9dLmIstL3qivbyY0OEu","mainEntityOfPage":"https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/what-the-teams-said-sprint-day-and-qualifying-in-the-netherlands-2026.1vJ9dLmIstL3qivbyY0OEu","datePublished":"2026-08-22T18:26:11.993Z","dateModified":"2026-08-22T18:26:11.993Z","headline":"What the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix ","author":"F1","description":"The drivers and teams report back on all the action from the Sprint and then Qualifying ahead of the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix from Zandvoort. ","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://media.formula1.com/image/upload/t_16by9South/f_auto/q_auto/v1787396047/trackside-images/2026/F1_Grand_Prix_of_Netherlands___Sprint__Qualifying/2291525282.jpg"},"isAccessibleForFree":"true","publisher":{"@type":"SportsOrganization","@id":"https://www.formula1.com#organization","name":"Formula 1","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.formula1.com/etc/designs/fom-website/social/f1-default-share.jpg","width":"480","height":"120"}}}MercedesMcLarenWilliamsShow more tagsWhat the teams said – Sprint day and Qualifying in the Netherlands The drivers and teams report back on all the action from the Sprint and then Qualifying ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. Norris drove well for the first half of the Sprint but then started to lose the rear as his medium tyres began to struggle with grip. That enabled Leclerc to close in and get past, Norris then having to work hard to keep a rapid Antonelli at bay. Piastri had already lost out to the Mercedes man on the opening lap, the Australian then having a slightly lonely Sprint in fifth. But McLaren managed to tweak their car for Qualifying, and whatever they did paid dividends for Norris who grabbed pole for back-to-back Grand Prix P1 starts. He looked supremely confident out there, and while Piastri was right with his team mate, the Australian couldn’t quite extract the same pace on the final runs in Q3 and had to settle for P4. Lando Norris, Sprint: 3rd, Qualifying: 1st, 1:11.163 "I'm very happy to be on Pole for the second time in a row. Today, the main difference was the driving; my final lap was one where I was just fully committed. It wasn't my cleanest ever lap because I was pushing so much and taking more risk, but that attacking mentality paid off and gives us the best possible starting position. "The Sprint Race was a little trickier, we struggled for rear grip and had to fight to hold on to third. Our race pace simply wasn't good enough, and we're clearly lacking in the slow speed corners, but we were able to work on that before Qualifying and find something to help us take Pole this afternoon. "Looking ahead to the race, I'm not as confident as I was in Budapest. We know our rivals are very strong, and I expect a much bigger challenge tomorrow. My job tonight is to work hard with the engineers, learn as much as we can from the Sprint, and prepare well for the race. It's going to be a tough one, but starting from P1 with clean air gives us a fighting chance." Oscar Piastri, Sprint: 5th, Qualifying: 4th, 1:11.305 "A reasonable day overall across both sessions. Even if the final Sprint and Qualifying result isn't quite what I wanted, the car felt good and it is is encouraging to know that we are making progress and can compete at the sharp end. I’ll take these promising signs away and work with the team to look ahead at what work we can do to improve our race pace as the second half of the Sprint wasn't as strong as we'd like. “We know that overtaking is not easy here, so the start will be crucial tomorrow. We are in the mix with Mercedes and Ferrari, and hopefully, the changes we've made will put us in a stronger position to fight for a Podium finish.” “Today was a positive Qualifying session because it confirms the Pole position we scored in Hungary and gives substance to the trend that the car is working well in multiple conditions. “The team scored a decent number of points in the Sprint but ultimately suffered with tyre degradation. This provided good learnings which could be applied onto the car for this afternoon’s Qualifying. “These reasonable number of changes were made between the two sessions, with the objective of improving the grip in low-speed corners and reducing the demand on the rear axle, so that we could not only improve overall performance but also help protect tyre degradation. “It looks like the first target has been achieved, because the changes helped us in Qualifying and the car performed very well. The second answer will come tomorrow, because the race is a different challenge to what we experienced in today’s Sprint where our race pace wasn’t as competitive. Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix will see many more laps and the bigger challenge of degradation that can be worth almost a tenth per lap. “Going into the race, we know Mercedes and Ferrari will be strong, but focusing on ourselves, we need to be prepared and maximise the car set-up to extract the full potential of the car to make sure we are competitive with our race pace over the full distance.” 0/3Next imageMercedes Russell made a good start from pole and managed his tyres superbly to take an unchallenged victory in the Sprint, as he began to eat into his team mate’s lead in the Championship. Antonelli did well from fifth, picked off Piastri on the opening lap and came close to getting Norris too. His race pace looked very strong, despite being in traffic, which bodes well for the Italian tomorrow. In Qualifying, Russell still had the edge on his team mate and managed to grab a slot on the front row. He could not quite match Norris in the end, while a small mistake in Turn 1 from Antonelli cost him a shot at pole. Starting second and third behind a car that seemed to have slower race pace in the Sprint still bodes well for Mercedes. George Russell, Sprint: 1st, Qualifying: 2nd, 1:11.265 "It was good to start today with victory in the Sprint. It was a controlled race where I was mainly managing the tyres and the gap behind. We saw how close the field is at the front so track position was key. Overall, it’s positive to see that we’ve returned from the summer break with good pace and this has given me and the team a boost of confidence. "In the afternoon, it was an intense end to Qualifying. We knew there was rain on the way near the end of Q3, so we opted to pull our run programme forward. On my final effort, the first half of the lap was strong and my best of the weekend. I made a small mistake in the second half of the lap, increased the temperature of the tyres, and the lap time ran away a little. That was a shame as I think pole position was possible. Tomorrow will be an interesting race. The McLarens looked quick in the Sprint and have good track position with Norris. The Ferraris have been fast too so it is good for us that they qualified behind us. Track position is important, but it will be a long Grand Prix with plenty of interesting strategy options so let’s see what Sunday brings." Kimi Antonelli, Sprint: 4th, Qualifying: 3rd, 1:11.296 "Today hasn’t been the easiest on my side. I didn’t feel fully comfortable with the car, particularly in Q1 in Qualifying, and it was difficult to find a rhythm. I started to get the feeling back towards Q3, but unfortunately, I made a mistake in Turn 1 on my final run. It's a shame because sector one cost me around two tenths and, although I managed to recover some of that through sectors two and three and still put together a lap that was good enough for P3, we could have been in the fight for pole. "Starting from the second row isn't a bad place to be, and there's still everything to play for tomorrow. The field is incredibly close, so I'm pleased to still come away with a decent grid spot despite the challenges. Tomorrow will be about attacking when opportunities present themselves but doing so in a smart way. The podium is certainly within reach, but our focus is on maximising the result and taking any opportunity that comes our way." Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport "It has been a solid Saturday in Zandvoort. George has continued his good start to the weekend with victory in the Sprint and P2 in Qualifying. He had his fair share of bad luck in the first half of the season so it’s great to see him come back from the summer break so well. Kimi had a decent race too, making up a position but not risking too much. "In Qualifying, it didn’t look like we had the pace to challenge for the front-row, and we were worried at moments that we would be at the back end of the top six cars. In the end, to secure P2 with George and P3 with Kimi is a positive result. Neither driver was completely satisfied with their efforts, but it still gives us a solid position to fight from in tomorrow’s race. "Track position, as we saw in the Sprint is very important here in Zandvoort. Even if the car behind has superior pace, it is tough to pass. We will be doing what we can therefore to put the pressure on the McLaren of Norris ahead. Our race pace looked solid, but not the best, so we will know it will be difficult to fight for the win but that is what we will be aiming to do." Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director "We started the day well with a good Sprint. George put in a very strong drive to convert yesterday's pole into victory. Kimi meanwhile drove a very well-managed race, gaining a place to Piastri at the start to put him P4. Unfortunately, we ran out of laps at the end to have a chance of passing Norris for third. "We made a few changes to the cars going into Qualifying and overall, the car was working reasonably well for both drivers. The challenge was working out whether it was better to go for our efforts on the first lap or do a preparation lap. In Q3, we were also balancing the requirements of the tyres with the fact than an ominous looking rain cloud was nearing on the radar threatening to hit the last few minutes of the final session. Ultimately, we didn't quite have the pace for pole, but P2 for George and P3 for Kimi are reasonable places to start. We will need good long run pace to challenge for the win, but the Sprint suggests that everything is to play for." 0/2Next imageFerrari Leclerc was the only top runner to start on the softs, and it proved a strategic masterstroke from Ferrari. With degradation lower than expected, he was able to close in and pass Norris for second, pulling off a move into Turn 1. From there, the Monegasque driver matched Russell’s pace, showing that Ferrari will be able to challenge Mercedes in the Grand Prix. As for Hamilton, he was tucked up behind Verstappen for the entire Sprint, and on the mediums did not have enough pace advantage to pass his old rival. Ferrari’s pace faded in Qualifying, with Hamilton pipping his team mate by just over half a tenth as they locked out the third row. Conditions did cool down, which might have contributed to the Scuderia dropping behind the McLaren and Mercedes cars on one lap pace. But if they have optimised their set-ups for the race, it could all come back together tomorrow. Charles Leclerc, Sprint: 2nd, Qualifying: 6th, 1:11.558 "We know how crucial qualifying was for this race so it’s going to be a challenge to start from P6. "In the Sprint, our race pace was solid, and we took a risk starting on the Soft tyres that paid off in the end. It’s a tough track to overtake on, and we took our chance at the right moment to gain a position. "We have a few things we have to review from our qualifying, but I don’t think that pole was on the cards for us today. We’ll have to maximise the start and see what we can do with our strategy to try and get ahead of our competitors." Lewis Hamilton, Sprint: 7th, Qualifying: 5th, 1:11.494 "After the Sprint race, we made a few adjustments to improve the balance and find a better window for qualifying. The car felt more comfortable, although it was still a tricky session as getting the tyres to work as we wanted was our biggest challenge and made it difficult to put everything together. "We know there are still areas where we need to improve, but it’s good to be in a position to fight further up the order. It was also important to rebuild some confidence in qualifying with a new setup, which is never straightforward. I’m grateful to everyone in the team for the work they continue to put into the car and I’m looking forward to what tomorrow can bring." "Our race pace was good this morning and one positive from qualifying is that we saved one set of Softs for tomorrow, which could be an advantage as we are the only team starting at the front to have done so. Clearly, P5 and P6 was not our target and we were expecting a better result after yesterday. We struggled through qualifying and I think everyone was really on the edge when it came to deciding whether or not to do a prep lap. We saw in the Sprint that it’s difficult to overtake here, but tomorrow will be a different race, with strategy and pit stops playing a much bigger role. We expect to have good race pace and we’ll prepare well, with the aim of moving up the field tomorrow." 0/2Next imageRed Bull Lawson did well for Red Bull, getting off the line cleanly and holding on to P11 throughout the Sprint. But with overtaking tricky, he could not progress forward. Nor could Verstappen, who finished where he started. He did at least get close to Piastri ahead, running out of time to pressurise the McLaren man into a mistake. In Qualifying, Lawson went one better than yesterday and made it to Q3. Once there he did well to keep his team mate honest and wound up qualifying just over a tenth behind the Dutchman. That result more than atones for Lawson’s qualifying performances last year in Red Bull colours, but the true test will come in tomorrow’s Grand Prix as he bids to add some points to Red Bull’s tally. Max Verstappen, Sprint: 6th, Qualifying: 7th, 1:11.618 “Over the weekend, we have tried different setup changes to the car, but it hasn’t made too much difference, which is a shame. We have been a bit limited with the balance, especially around the corners, and it has been difficult to push due to the lack of grip; we just haven’t got the car into a window that we are completely happy with. Looking to tomorrow, I think we need to be realistic about what we can do, as we are lacking a bit of pace. We will just need to manage our own race and see how we go and hopefully we can extract a bit more performance. Of course, with it being the final race in Zandvoort, it is still going to be special, and the feeling and energy in the crowd have been amazing all weekend. It will be something to enjoy here with the fans one last time." Liam Lawson, Sprint: 11th, Qualifying: 8th, 1:11.733 “It’s been a challenging weekend so far, but I’m pleased with how I’ve adapted, and I felt Qualifying was a positive session for me. The Sprint was a good learning, overtaking was difficult, so to finish where we started was probably the maximum today. There’s a lot to adjust to in a short space of time, but the Team has done a great job getting me as comfortable as possible in the car. I’m grateful for all the work they’ve put in. Tomorrow will be tough, but the target is to hold our position, fight for points and keep learning. At the moment, Max is obviously the strongest reference I have, and it is good to see how close we are. But there’s still time to find and we’d like a bit more pace from the car for the race." "In terms of our overall pace so far, we have been struggling since yesterday to get one-lap speed from the car on this track. We were over half a second off in Sprint Qualifying and while we found an improvement today, it wasn’t enough to be truly competitive. "Both Max and Liam did everything they could to extract the maximum from the package they had in hand. As ever, Max was right in the fight until the very last moment and Liam did a very good job indeed. It’s very difficult to jump from a Team to another and to be just over a tenth off Max this afternoon is a fantastic result. It’s a great story for him and for the team. "However, we saw in this morning’s Sprint that we are in a better situation in race trim. We were closer to the cars ahead and tomorrow that means we will push really hard to fight with the guys ahead of us. I think there are seven or eight cars that can fight for the podium. We know it is difficult to overtake around here but we will do everything we can to be right in that battle." 0/2Next imageAlpine Gasly was the only midfield runner to score in the Sprint, picking up one point with eighth place. He did well to keep a fast Bortoleto at bay in the opening stages, before he eventually pulled a gap to the Brazilian. As for Colapinto, he pulled off one of the only moves in the Sprint, getting past Tsunoda to finish 12th. Gasly could not make it two top-10 starts though, just missing out in Q2 by a tenth. Colapinto had closed up to his team mate, and will start 14th for the Grand Prix. Pierre Gasly, Sprint: 8th, Qualifying: 11th, 1:12.616 “It was great to score a point in the Sprint Race as it's been a little while since we have been in the points. We were able to translate our pace from yesterday into the Sprint today, which was positive. Track position certainly helped and I just tried to manage everything and bring home the P8 finish. I was pleased with that but certainly less pleased in Qualifying. It was a messy session for me and we just seemed to struggle a little more compared to yesterday on low fuel. We won't be too harsh on ourselves as the pace was there for Q3, less than a tenth of a second, so we will review and see what we can do better next time. It is still early days with the new part and we are still learning how best to maximise the entire package and have it in an optimal set-up window. We expect it to be tight once again in the midfield tomorrow. Our eyes are fully focused on those ahead and taking the fight to them in the race for the points.” Franco Colapinto, Sprint: 12th, Qualifying: 14th, 1:12.800 “I was able to maximise the car in Qualifying today after what was a very good job by the whole team. Even though I couldn't complete my final lap because of traffic, up until then it was a very strong session for us. I had already done a good lap, and it is positive that we were close to the Racing Bulls and Audis. We made some small changes to the car after this morning's Sprint Race and were able to build on that performance for this afternoon. I'm happy with the gain we made, and the car felt better and more consistent. We obviously still need to wait for the new upgrade on my side but today our Qualifying was maximised, so I am pleased with that. Our goal is to go forwards in the race tomorrow, it will be tricky in dry conditions so some rain will be welcome, but we will try our best.” Steve Nielsen, Managing Director “We have mixed emotions as a team today. We had a positive start with Pierre finishing P8 in the Sprint Race and securing a very important point for the team. It was a largely uneventful race and Pierre managed everything well, very much in control, without the need for taking any risks. Qualifying was more challenging for us and we are rightly disappointed with the end result given how well things had been going up to this point. Franco maximised everything he had to hand and really did a great job once again. Pierre's session was a little more scrappy than we wanted and there was certainly lap time left on the table throughout. He struggled a lot in the first sector and had a snap at Turn 10 in Q2, which impacted his chances of reaching Q3. It was a story of fine margins – as always in the midfield – and the car certainly had the pace to be in the top ten today. There is a lot for us still to learn on the package and all is not lost this weekend yet. It will no doubt be a busy race tomorrow with plenty of factors coming into play. I'm sure we have some pace to challenge our rivals in front and that is our objective tomorrow: to be in the points.” 0/2Next imageAudi Bortoleto started ninth and just could not find a way past Gasly’s Alpine, unluckily the first car not to score out there. Hulkenberg’s Sprint was busier, as he was called back to the pits to retire with a PU problem. The team managed to sort it, sending the German back out for a few laps at the end. Hulkenberg was sent out early in Q1 on the mediums as the team tested out the car again, and after his disrupted running it was no surprise to see the German exiting in Q2. Bortoleto nearly missed out in Q1, after getting sideways through Turn 1. He was able to turn his session around, make it all the way to Q3 and wound up ‘best of the rest’ as he chases a third points score in the last four Grands Prix. Nico Hulkenberg, Sprint: 22nd, Qualifying: 13th, 1:12.797 "It hasn't been the easiest weekend for us so far, and the power issue I suffered at the start of the Sprint meant I never really stood a chance there. Still, we managed to resolve the problem ahead of qualifying. I'm not unhappy with my lap, although on my final attempt I caught a bit of tailwind out of turn one, which made things difficult and cost me some lap time. Apart from that, it was a pretty clean lap. This is a track where rhythm and confidence are really important, and we haven't quite been able to find that consistently this weekend so far.“ Gabriel Bortoleto, Sprint: 9th, Qualifying: 9th, 1:12.079 "It was a tricky qualifying session, but also an amazing one. I struggled in Q1 and nearly got knocked out, but I kept my head down, put together the lap I needed, and made my way through and eventually into the top ten. In the end, P9 was the most we could do today, and I'm really happy we extracted the maximum from the car. Looking back at the Sprint, I was quite happy with my pace, although we would have needed something more to move further up. If we can get another good start tomorrow, we might have another chance to be in the mix for a good result." "Overall, this has been a solid day in which we showed good pace and an ability to consistently fight at the front of the midfield. In the Sprint, Gabi had a clean run all the way through. He perhaps had one opportunity to overtake Gasly at the start, but Pierre was able to defend and from there Gabi stayed on his tail. Considering the Alpine started on a new medium and we were on a used medium, we can assess our pace was very good. Unfortunately, Nico had a power issue right at the beginning of the race, so we had to pit and try to rectify it, which we did, and he was able to go back out towards the end of the race. As a precaution, we decided to change the power unit ahead of qualifying and the race as a precaution. All in all, P9 was just outside the points, but it was a good performance from Gabi. “When it came to qualifying, Gabi had a really strong run through every session and delivered a very nice lap to qualify ‘best of the rest’ in P9. He had a pretty big slide out of turn one at the beginning of Q1, but recovered extremely well to deliver a strong performance, not least a lap under pressure at the end of Q1. Nico was in the mix throughout as well but unfortunately didn’t quite get everything together on his final run in Q2 and will line up 13th. However, our race pace is good, so I think we can definitely fight for points with both cars tomorrow.” 0/2Next imageRacing Bulls Lindblad could not make any progress in the Sprint, but 10th would be enough to score tomorrow, so the rookie is well placed to continue his strong weekend. Tsunoda could also be satisfied with his Sprint showing, despite losing one place. He managed to get off the line well, not easy in these cars, and now has more vital experience to take into tomorrow’s Grand Prix. In Qualifying, Lindblad made it into the top 10 again as he continues to put in consistent laps, while Tsunoda just missed out and will start 12th tomorrow. Arvid Lindblad, Sprint: 10th, Qualifying: 10th, 1:12.185 "It's really good to end another Saturday in Q3. Zandvoort is a new track for me and I've been enjoying driving around here since the start of the weekend. Qualifying was a solid session overall, though I'm a bit disheartened by Q3. We found something with the build-up lap on the first run on the used Softs, but unfortunately we couldn't execute it on the final lap as the rain arrived. Still, it's a good starting position for tomorrow. I'm grateful to the team for the work they've done and for giving me a car I can always enjoy pushing in Qualifying. It's also good to see Yuki doing a great job and getting up to speed. We're in a solid position for tomorrow; it will be important to have a good start and then we'll be on the hunt for points." Yuki Tsunoda, Sprint: 13th, Qualifying: 12th, 1:12.627 "I’m really happy with today’s result. It’s my first time properly being back in the car for eight months, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. Throughout the session I was really focused on myself and the areas where I could improve, I’ve really enjoyed the process of finding the limit and understanding where I can push. It would have been nice to make it into Q3, but it was incredibly tight towards the end of Qualifying. We’re really close to the points for tomorrow, so the goal is to give it maximum push, make the most of every opportunity and enjoy it as much as possible." Tim Goss, Chief Technical Officer "Overall, VCARB had another positive day today. The day started with a solid performance in the Sprint. Yuki continues to do an amazing job and has got to grips with the complexities of this new breed of car impressively quickly. Both cars had good starts and held position with the cars around them from Lap 1 onwards. It was a fairly uneventful Sprint for us but provided valuable learning for Sunday's race. Ahead of Qualifying we continued to refine the setup and PU energy management, aiming to improve the car balance especially at medium and high speed. "Both cars progressed comfortably through the first Qualifying session, and we elected to complete three runs to maximise driver learning ahead of the next more competitive session. In Q2 Yuki proved again that he could compete at the front of the midfield and qualified P12, just 0.01s behind Gasly. Arvid delivered an exceptional first lap in Q3 on a scrubbed set of tyres but missed getting a perfect lap on the final run on the new Soft tyres. With the threat of rain, we had to quickly adapt our run plan which slightly compromised Arvid's preparation, however, we start P10 and have every confidence we can maintain our good points scoring run on Sunday." 0/2Next imageHaas Bearman was the only car other than Leclerc to gamble on the softs for the start, Haas picking up plenty of useful data they can use for tomorrow’s strategy calls. But neither Haas could make inroads up the field. Qualifying was much of the same, Bearman exiting in Q1 again as his struggles here continue. Ocon made it to Q2, but could go no further in a car that does not have the pace to get near the top 10 at the moment. Oliver Bearman, Sprint: 15th, Qualifying: 20th, 1:13.826 “The Sprint felt pretty good to be honest, I was quite happy, the tyres felt good, and the pace felt decent. I believe the issues we’re struggling with feel less apparent in the race with this type of track, so I was much more pleased with the balance this morning. I’m really confused now after qualifying because the feeling was much better and in the car I was a bit happier compared to yesterday, and even this morning. I felt like I was more confident, but the lap time was even harder to come by. I struggled more to get it out of the car, so it’s quite confusing. We’ll do our best tomorrow.” Esteban Ocon, Sprint: 14th, Qualifying: 15th, 1:13.137 “I think we were lacking a bit to the VCARB in the Sprint as they were pulling away from us, and we were pulling away from Williams behind, so Ollie and I were a bit in no man’s land. We split strategy, so that’s going to be interesting to choose which tyre is best for tomorrow. It was quite a shame that the rain only came in the last lap, as it would’ve been fun for those watching. I don’t think we could’ve gone any faster in qualifying, it's three-tenths to the next car in front. I did a very good lap, well optimised, and there wasn’t anything we could’ve done better really. That’s where the performance is, which is difficult to say, but we need updates to come as quickly as they can – which should be the next race – for us to be able to fight higher up. We can do it when the car is healthy, and it’s been healthy for the last two events, so let's hope it can last.” “In terms of trackside operation, it was very, very positive. Esteban, again in qualifying, like in Sprint qualifying yesterday, got everything out of the car. What I’m happiest about is how everyone is working together, communication is clear, and that’s probably the best team effort in terms of how we are coordinating, how we’re working together with clarity of communication, it’s really encouraging. The tyres are so sensitive here, and when you have a mixture of one timed lap versus prep lap runners, it’s hard to be completely in sync, and Ollie was unfortunate with (Yuki) Tsunoda and (Liam) Lawson, and missed a bit of tyre prep, so he didn’t have grip. It’s unfortunate, but at least Esteban showed where the car is, which was ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon, in P15. Tomorrow, we want to finish this weekend on a high operationally, like this, and then get ready for Monza.” 0/2Next imageWilliams Sainz started the Sprint from the pit lane after making some set-up changes, with Williams trying to gather data to help inform the rest of their weekend. But they remain off the pace, with the Spaniard then exiting at the first time of asking in Qualifying as he did yesterday. Albon made Q2, but will start just the one place ahead of his team mate, with Williams’ fight likely with the Haas cars tomorrow. Alex Albon, Sprint: 16th, Qualifying: 16th, 1:13.182 “I'm happy with that Q2 lap; we made a few changes that worked between the Sprint and qualifying, so the balance was better, but we're still struggling with pure downforce. I don't think I quite extracted the maximum in Q1, but I definitely did in Q2, and it's probably the most complete lap I've done in a while. We got into more of a rhythm today and were more consistent with our laps, so at least we got one Haas and both Astons behind us for tomorrow. We still need to understand why our starting setup was so far out, because that's something we can build on. With a better setup, maybe we can look after our tyres better too - that's going to matter tomorrow as the deg was high in the Sprint. Overtaking is trickier around Zandvoort, so I'm expecting some tyre games in the race and multiple stops. Let's see what Sunday brings." Carlos Sainz, Sprint: 20th, Qualifying: 17th, 1:13.574 “Sprint weekends don’t leave much time to root out problems and we used the Sprint Race pretty much as a practice session, where we tried different things to improve the balance. This afternoon the car was feeling better and the changes we’ve done made it more comfortable to drive. My lap felt decent and we missed out on Q2 by a very thin margin. "Tomorrow we’ll try our best to put everything together and execute a clean race to extract the maximum of our car and see where that takes us." "It was a great lap from Alex in Q2. That’s all the car had in it today, but it's good to see him across this weekend, really extracting everything we could. With Carlos, just really on the back foot from those first few laps in FP1, but he did a great job today to bring the car back to somewhere sensible with just a few milliseconds between him and Alex. It was also good to see us close the gap to the front of the field. Still much larger than we want it to be, but generally in the right direction. "We've saved some tyres for tomorrow's race, which I think will also be very helpful, and hopefully, weather will come into play, and we can take every opportunity that comes our way." 0/2Next imageAston Martin Alonso started from the pit lane for the Sprint after making some changes to the car yesterday, and crucially the team did manage to fix his rear wing issue. He made some progress in the dash, and had an entertaining fight with his team mate. Despite that upgraded PU, neither driver was able to escape Q1 in the end, but they do start ahead of the Cadillacs and Bearman’s Haas. Fernando Alonso, Sprint: 18th, Qualifying: 18th, 1:13.650 “We were very close to getting into Q2 and more or less maximised what we had. We have work to do to improve the driveability of the car and to recover more lap time moving forward. All in all, I think we have to be happy to be 1.3 seconds from the leader in Q1, when just a few races ago we were on average 4 seconds adrift of the top teams. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow and enjoy our last race here in Zandvoort.” Lance Stroll, Sprint: 17th, Qualifying: 19th, 1:13.818 “We've struggled with similar issues today as we did yesterday. There are improvements we need to make with the driveability and balance of the car, and that's where our focus needs to be. Our race pace seems to be better than our Qualifying pace. In Qualifying, we need to be able to push more to really attack the lap. But we're making progress, we're working hard, and we'll keep pushing to make another step forward.” “Despite the limited practice running of a Sprint event, the weekend so far has given us valuable track time to better understand the characteristics of our recent upgrades and the updated power unit. Both drivers are reporting significant steps forward with the chassis and aero performance. The key takeaway is that we need to improve the drivability, and doing so will help us find more performance. Our pace is much improved compared to a couple of races ago – but we know there’s more potential to unlock from this package.” 0/2Next imageCadillac Perez had an issue on the grid and could not take part in the formation lap, but the team did manage to get the Mexican out after a few laps to gather data. Bottas also completed the entire Sprint, so the team continue to get the running they need to inform their next upgrade direction. Both drivers exited in Q1 in Qualifying, Bottas once again pipping his team mate but with the Cadillac cars locking out the last row on the grid, there is still work to do for the American outfit. Valtteri Bottas, Sprint: 19th, Qualifying: 21st, 1:14.371 “In the Sprint Race we were hoping that we could fight with Aston Martin, but it seemed like they had the upper hand. We’ll see where we are in terms of race pace for tomorrow over a longer duration, but hopefully we can challenge them and even Williams. Regarding Qualifying, it’s never nice to see us at the back, but the gaps are not huge, so we’ll keep chipping away to improve the car and try our best tomorrow.” Sergio Perez, Sprint: 21st, Qualifying: 22nd, 1:14.600 “We had a hydraulic issue this morning, but the team did a great job to get the car back out for the Sprint, and we were able to show some promising pace. It’s a bit unfortunate that we’ve lost some competitiveness compared to this morning because of the changes we did, when we were able to get a lot out of the car. We’ll have to see what we can do tomorrow, but the pace we showed today gives us some encouragement. It’s still very early days for Marcin in the team, but he brings a lot of experience and strong leadership, so I’m confident he’ll help push us in the right direction over the coming weekends.” Marc Hynes, Chief Racing Officer “It was a clean session for the team, and we ran different approaches across the two cars to generate useful information and valuable learning for future car development. The pace we showed is representative of where we are at this stage, but we were able to resolve the issues from earlier in the weekend and operate positively throughout the session. We’ll continue to build from here and maximise what we can achieve in tomorrow’s race. As we’ve seen today, the Zandvoort conditions are changeable - if we are agile there could be opportunities ahead.” 0/2Next imagePirelli Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director "Ferrari’s and Haas’s decision to use the Soft tyre in today’s Sprint demonstrated that the red-marked compound could be an option for Sunday, alongside the Hard and Medium, which are likely to be the most popular choices. All three compounds are therefore in play for the race. The C4 delivered the level of performance Leclerc needed to close in on Norris thanks to its superior grip, without any drop-off in pace over a longer stint. The relatively low temperatures also helped keep the compound within its optimal operating window. The Sprint further demonstrated how difficult overtaking can be at Zandvoort, an important factor when assessing how costly a pit stop may prove to be. "The quickest strategy is therefore a one-stop, starting on the Medium and running until laps 27-33 before switching to the Hard for the remainder of the race. An alternative, around one second slower, involves starting on the Soft, using it until the window between laps 26 and 32, and then finishing the race on the Hard. "In clean air, two-stop strategies also look competitive on paper, but it is necessary to take into account, as noted earlier, the limited overtaking opportunities available around the circuit. "A third stint could be considered in the event of a Virtual Safety Car or to take advantage of an undercut during the race, provided traffic conditions allow. The degradation levels recorded today, thermal in nature, were limited and, given that drivers are more likely to manage their tyres during the race, should not be decisive in determining strategy, at least for the two harder compounds." Download the Official F1 AppYour ultimate companion into
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