George Russell took a commanding victory in the Formula 1 Sprint Race, leading from Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris for the first race of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
Russell was starting on pole for the race, taking his first Sprint Pole in the 2026 season. Russell has been on the back foot at Mercedes throughout the season as Kimi Antonelli has stormed ahead.
However, the weekend so far had played into Russell’s hands with his teammate starting in fifth.
Norris was lining up alongside his fellow 2019 rookie, both looking for the lead into the first corner.
Russell was quick off the line as the lights went out, holding onto his lead into the first corner. Norris slipped in beside him, with Charles Leclerc close on his tail.
Antonelli made it past Oscar Piastri in the first lap and was quickly setting his sights on the Ferrari ahead.
A difficult day for Hulkenberg
Further back in the order, Nico Hulkenberg has lost four places in the opening laps from 14th to 18th in the field. He fell another place as the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas made his way ahead of the Audi driver.
The top four stayed close together, within overtaking range of one another. Russell was fighting, teetering on the edge of breaking the one-second gap to Norris on Lap 5, but the Brit was holding onto the Mercedes.
It was a difficult weekend for Hulkenberg, who was called into the pits to retire the car. The Audi driver dropped from his 14th place at the start to 21st when he entered the pits.
Out front, the gaps were beginning to grow, with Norris falling back to one second from Russell, while Leclerc was slowly closing on the McLaren.
However, Antonelli wasn’t letting the front runners rest. He brought the gap to Leclerc down to 0.6 seconds. On lap 9, the Italian was right on the Monegasque’s gearbox.
On Lap 10, Norris complained about his McLaren’s handling as he dropped further behind Russell, giving the Mercedes a healthy 1.4-second lead.
Leclerc took advantage of Norris’ struggles, closing the gap to 0.4 seconds over the following laps. Yet, he wasn’t able to get past the Brit, having to sit behind him through each lap.
At the back of the grid, Fernando Alonso was making headway, climbing four places in the first half of the Sprint Race. Lance Stroll was one place ahead of his teammate as the duo sat 17th and 18th.
A daring move for Leclerc
Leclerc was the closest he’d been to Norris on Lap 17. The Monegasque was trying to find a gap to potentially make his way past the Brit into the opening corners.
The gap sat at just 0.2 seconds for the two as Leclerc dove down the inside of Norris into Turn 1. The daring move paid off as the two went side by side, but the Ferrari driver came out ahead.
Leclerc quickly disappeared ahead, putting 1.4 seconds between him and the McLaren behind. Norris’ woes weren’t over as he found himself challenged by Antonelli. The Italian driver was slowly but surely closing the gap.
Carlos Sainz’s struggles continued as he was called into the pit lane; the Williams driver carried on in the race but firmly at the back of the field.
Norris put in the fastest lap on Lap 22, but with a gap of 2.1 seconds to Leclerc ahead, the Brit was stuck fending off the threat from behind.
Antonelli was getting close once again to the McLaren on the final lap. Looking down the inside briefly into the first corner. The Italian driver thought better of the move, but Norris was under severe pressure into the closing stages.
Out front, Russell took the chequered flag, claiming the Sprint victory, an important result for the Brit whose 2026 season hasn’t been smooth sailing. Behind him, Leclerc took second with Norris just able to keep Antonelli at bay.
READ MORE: George Russell ‘pulled it off when it mattered’ to secure Dutch GP Sprint Pole
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