George Russell made a welcome return to form as he took a thrilling sprint qualifying pole at the Dutch Grand Prix.The Mercedes driver beat McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to the top spot at Zandvoort, with the gap between Russell and fourth-placed Oscar Piastri just 0.099s.Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was only fifth as Formula 1 made its return to action after the traditional summer shutdown.F1 Dutch Grand Prix 2026: SQ1 ResultsThat's Alonso locking up on the approach to Tarzan corner#F1Sprint #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/Sbk6OKZi1R— Formula 1 (@F1) August 21, 2026Track conditions were vastly improved from what started as a damp practice session earlier in the day, but that didn't stop Antonelli from having a slide at the penultimate corner, taking a trip through the gravel.There was no damage caused, but that moment did cost the championship leader his first flying lap, crucial when teams are handed medium tires for the first segment of sprint qualifying and the top teams want to conserve life for the rest of the weekend.Fernando Alonso was another to lose his first attempt, the two-time champion suffering a huge lock-up into Tarzan and skidding off the road. The Aston Martin driver recovered, but his time wasn't good enough to reach SQ2.Leclerc was fastest at the end of the 12-minute session, but the six dropping out were headed by Haas' Oliver Bearman, who was 0.110s down on the time needed to progress.The Briton will line up ahead of Williams driver Carlos Sainz - the Spaniard struggling across the day and failing to recover from three separate offs in practice. Lance Stroll was the lead Aston Martin in 19th, with the Canadian separated from teammate Alonso by the two Cadillacs - Valtteri Bottas ahead of Sergio Perez.PositionDriver / TeamGap to SQ2 [s]17Oliver Bearman / Haas+0.11018Carlos Sainz / Williams+0.12019Lance Stroll / Aston Martin+0.77320Valtteri Bottas / Cadillac+0.85421Sergio Perez / Cadillac+0.92722Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin+1.396F1 Dutch Grand Prix 2026: SQ2 ResultsGetty Images / Red Bull Content PoolPiastri topped the timesheets in the second part of sprint qualifying, which had no major dramas to note.In a thrilling end to the session, the final place in SQ3 cycled through a number of drivers, but it was Gabriel Bortoleto that made the cut for Audi.Liam Lawson struggled with understeer in the Red Bull, in which he is filling in for the injured Isack Hadjar, ending up 0.350s down on the elimination cut-off.The Kiwi was just ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who has taken his place at Racing Bulls for the weekend. The Japanese impressed on his return to F1, just 0.009s off Lawson to wind up 12th.Franco Colapinto was 13th as he awaits the upgrade package enjoyed by teammate Pierre Gasly this weekend and starts ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in the second Audi.Esteban Ocon and Alex Albon will start the sprint 15th and 16th.PositionDriver / TeamGap to SQ3 [s]11Liam Lawson / Red Bull+0.35012Yuki Tsunoda / Racing Bulls+0.35913Franco Colapinto / Alpine+0.65314Nico Hulkenberg / Audi+0.83015Esteban Ocon / Haas+1.10716Alex Albon / Williams+1.508F1 Dutch Grand Prix 2026: SQ3 ResultsGEORGE RUSSELL TAKES #F1SPRINT POLE AT ZANDVOORT!! 💪#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/eRI9FqfHUH— Formula 1 (@F1) August 21, 2026With drivers switching to soft tires for the eight-minute shootout for sprint pole, there was a lull in activity as teams awaited peak track conditions.It took until there were four minutes left on the clock before cars left the pitlane, led by Norris in the McLaren. That led to a feverish end to the session as laps flew in quick succession.Norris was first to set a lap but and his benchmark stood up against Antonelli, who was next to finish.But Russell in the other Mercedes was able to oust the reigning champion, taking a much-needed pole.Leclerc could manage only third in the Ferrari, albeit still within a tenth of the best lap, with Piastri fourth in the second McLaren.Antonelli ended up fifth ahead of home favorite Max Verstappen, while the Italian's nearest championship rival, Lewis Hamilton, could muster just seventh.Gasly was best of the rest in the upgraded Alpine, with Bortoleto and Arvid Lindblad rounding out the top 10.PositionDriver / TeamGap [s]1George Russell / Mercedes1:11.5672Lando Norris / McLaren+0.0413Charles Leclerc / Ferrari+0.0554Oscar Piastri / McLaren+0.0995Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes+0.2276Max Verstappen / Red Bull+0.5277Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari+0.6248Pierre Gasly / Alpine+1.0119Gabriel Bortoleto / Audi+1.01610Arvid Lindblad / Racing Bulls+1.170Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow