Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch Grand Prix and round 12 of the 2026 season. Kimi Antonelli leads the world championship standings by 50 points and secured a podium last time out in Hungary. His nearest challenger is Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes teammate George Russell is a further five points off the pace. Lando Norris claimed his and McLaren’s first victory of the season in Budapest and the reigning world champions will be looking to continue their decent form after the three-week summer recess. Yet this year’s event at Zandvoort will be the last at the old-school circuit, with the Dutch GP’s contract not being renewed with F1 beyond 2026. It gives Max Verstappen, who signed a new contract this week, one last opportunity to add to his three wins in front of his adoring orange-clad supporters. Follow live coverage of the Dutch Grand Prix with The IndependentPinnedWhat time is the grand prix?The Dutch Grand Prix starts at 2pm (BST) on Sunday, 23 August. (Reuters)Kieran Jackson22 August 2026 16:30Charles Leclerc, who qualified P6: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.”(Getty)Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 12:13QUALIFYING REPORT: Lando Norris pips Russell and Antonelli to take pole at blustery Dutch Grand PrixLando Norris clinched pole position at the Dutch Grand Prix after banishing his sprint struggles to end the day on top at Zandvoort.The reigning world champion gave a bleak outlook after he was unable to challenge sprint winner George Russell in Saturday’s 24-lap dash, ultimately clinging on to third after losing out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.But Norris returned with a bang as he overcame testing conditions on the Dutch coast to pip Russell to pole by 0.102 seconds.Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start from third ahead of Oscar Piastri, while Lewis Hamilton endured a disappointing day in his title bid and qualified only fifth.Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 12:00Kimi Antonelli, who qualified P3: “It was a difficult session for me, always found myself on the back foot, last lap did a mistake in turn 1, lost a couple of tenths, shame - we had a real shot for pole. “In Q3 I thought we had a shot, all to play for tomorrow.”(Getty)Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 11:45Lewis Hamilton after qualifying fifth: “I was P8, and my heart sunk at that moment... but it was a much different session and car. “When we started FP1 the car felt great, there were always areas to try and change, subtle changes, it flipped the car and was horrible in sprint qualifying and the race, no confidence in the balance, learning a new balance again. “All the Mercedes are up ahead; we know we have a deficit on power. I think tomorrow our race pace is better; the car is better for the race. On the grand prix: “Of course, I feel optimistic - fifth is not the greatest but it could be far worse, grateful to be there; our race pace was pretty good, Charles was good this morning. I feel optimistic; I think the car is in a better place, the right strategy with the right execution… hopefully we can challenge the guys ahead.”(Getty)Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 11:23Pierre Gasly, who qualified 11th: “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.”(Getty)Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 10:00George Russell after finishing second in qualifying:“Lando did a great job, congrats to him and McLaren - it was a strong session, P2 I'm pretty satisfied with. Get in my groove again, will try and fight with them tomorrow. “I feel in a good place, really nice to drive around here, cooler temperatures made the track feel really fast.”(Reuters)Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 08:00Mercedes boss Toto Wolff:“Solid but a bit worried we’d slip out of the top two, tiny mistakes but it’s a good starting point for tomorrow. “George had the upper hand, Kimi had a mistake in sector one, the stopwatch never lies. “Track position is the main thing - if we have the pace in the long run, otherwise you’re stuck.”(PA)Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 06:00Oscar Piastri, who qualified fourth: "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."Kieran Jackson23 August 2026 02:00Lewis Hamilton upbeat despite qualifying only fifth at Dutch GP: ‘I feel optimistic’Lewis Hamilton remains “optimistic” that he can salvage a positive result at the Dutch Grand Prix despite only qualifying fifth on Saturday. While Lando Norris took pole position for McLaren ahead of the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari were trailing their rivals on one-lap pace and Hamilton could only put his car fifth on the grid, though he did pip his teammate Charles Leclerc. Despite starting on the third row, Hamilton was upbeat in his post-session interview and pointed to Leclerc’s second-place finish in the sprint race earlier on Saturday – when he overtook Norris late on – as a means for motivation and hope heading into Sunday. Kieran Jackson22 August 2026 23:59