George Russell took the chequered flag to win the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix sprint race, but just in the nick of time as the heavens opened up over Zandvoort.
Russell led from lights to flag in an epic cat-and-mouse chase with the likes of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc to take the sprint win after 24 thrilling laps on Saturday.
After securing sprint pole on Friday, the Mercedes driver kept his lead intact at the start. But with Norris, and then Leclerc, chasing him, dark clouds started looming large over Zandvoort – adding another layer of complexity for the Briton.
The entire paddock was divided on when the rain would hit the circuit, and luckily for Russell, it came just as he crossed the finish line.
“A great start to the weekend,” he said.
“If there was one more lap it would have potentially been a very different end to the race, so I was glad the rain came when it did.”
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Russell’s sprint victory wasn’t as straightforward or dominant as one would have expected given the W17’s advantage over the grid.
The opening phase of the 24-lap race saw Norris hunt Russell down in his upgraded MCL40. But as Russell revealed, he was managing his tyres, which allowed Norris to stay pinned to his gearbox.
“I knew if there were going to be any overtakes, they were going to be towards the end of the race,” Russell explained.
“So, I knew I just wanted to manage my tyres a bit through the high-speed corners and have a bit more in the tank come the end of the race.”
Russell quickly eked a gap out to the McLaren driver but was then faced with the prospect of a fast-charging SF-26, on Softs, who had just gotten past Norris in the late stages of the race.
“I knew if Charles got past Lando at all, he would be fast,” he recalled. “As soon as I saw Charles behind, I dropped the hammer a little bit and the two of us pulled away.”
Seeing Ferrari’s pace through Friday and the sprint, Russell is wary of the threat the Maranello-based team could pose to Mercedes heading into Qualifying, later this afternoon.
“The Ferraris look really fast, so it’s going to be a tight one this afternoon,” Russell concluded.
Russell seems to have kicked off the second-half of the season on absolutely the right note as he now looks to take on his team-mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli for the 2026 title fight.
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