Formula 1

George Russell wins processional Dutch GP Sprint from Leclerc and Norris

Fraser Masefield
2 months ago
4 min read

George Russell continued his strong start to the Dutch Grand Prix weekend by winning Saturday’s Sprint race from Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris.


Having started from pole position, Russell made the best of starts to lead the pack into the first corner and never looked back, taking victory and a welcome 8 points.

Mercedes teammate Antonelli made a place to finish fourth from Oscar Piastri as Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Pierre Gasly rounded off the points finishers.

“Obviously a great start to the weekend,” said Russell afterwards. “I knew if there was going to be any overtakes; it was going to be towards the end of the race.

“So I just wanted to manage my tyres a little bit through the high-speed corners and have a bit more in the tank come the end of the race.

“I knew if Charles got past Lando, he would have been fast. And as soon as I saw Charles behind, I dropped the hammer a little bit and the two of us pulled away.

George Russell of Great Britain driving the (63) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W17 at Circuit Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Sam Bagnall/Sutton Images)

THE TALE OF THE RACE

With Leclerc and Bearman the only two drivers on the grid to gamble on the grippier soft compound Pirelli tyres, a fast start would be critical in this truncated race format.

And it was pole sitter Russell who made it into Turn 1 ahead under pressure from Norris, Leclerc hot on their heels.

READ HOW F1 CARS HANDLE THE SEVERE LOADS OF ZANDVOORT

Antonelli made the best of the starts of the leading drivers, making up a spot on Oscar Piastri on a circuit where passing is at a premium.

And so it transpired, as try as they might and even with overtake mode at drivers’ disposal, the race developed into a procession where only a mistake looked like providing an opportunity.



Then on lap 18 came such an opportunity. With Norris complaining of a lack of rear grip, Leclerc catapulted past and into second place.

“Well, I mean, always when you are the only one doing something, it’s either very right or very wrong,” said Leclerc of his decision to start on the softs.

“At the end, so that’s good. It means we did our homework in FP1. But when I was on the grid, yeah, you just hope to have done the right choice.

“I knew Lando didn’t have much deployment on the main straight, so I knew I had to maximize that.

“But then we still arrived at the breaking point more or less at the same level. But it worked out, which was good.

“I did not expect to gain positions at the end of the race with these soft tires. If anything, it was at the start.”

Despite coming under late pressure from Antonelli, defending champion Norris was able to hold onto the final Sprint podium place and help out his mate Russell just a little bit as the rain started to fall a lap too late.

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“Not a bad result, not the best,” added Norris. “Would have been nice to be a little bit faster today. Charles was just too quick, so I don’t think it was the tyres. Just pace.

“We’re not very good at high speed. We’re just not. The car’s not performing to the level it needs to in the slow speed corners. So there’s not a lot we can do.

“I think we still have to be happy with the progress we’ve been making, but we just need more.”

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Fraser Masefield

Fraser is a sports and motorsports editor with over 25 years experience. The former head editor of WilliamsF1, BMW Motorsport, Jaguar Racing and Virgin Media, he has also worked for Autosport, ESPNF1 and Eurosport amongst others.

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