Lando Norris has admitted that his inability to extract maximum performance from the soft tyres cost him dearly in Sprint Qualifying at the F1 Dutch GP, as George Russell snatched pole.
Russell will lead the Sprint Race from P1 after edging Norris by just 0.041s at Zandvoort. The McLaren driver had been quicker in SQ1 and SQ2 but lost momentum in the final segment.
Under F1 Sprint Qualifying rules, drivers must use medium tyres for SQ1 and SQ2, then switch to softs for SQ3—a transition Norris failed to nail.
“I’m a little disappointed to be P2 instead of P1,” Norris said. “It was close, could have been P1 or P4. The step onto the soft was tricky; there was more grip I didn’t quite get out of it.”
The top four—Russell, Norris, Charles Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri—were covered by a tenth of a second, underlining the intense competition.
Despite being satisfied with the car’s performance, Norris remains cautious about overtaking in the Sprint. “It’s not an easy track to pass, and the inside of the grid is worse,” he said. “We’ve started strong, but there’s work to do for qualifying.”
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