From Zandvoort
McLaren secures its second consecutive pole position after Budapest, reaffirming the quality of the MCL40, a car that is nonetheless not without flaws. The race could further expose the weaknesses of the papaya car, giving hope to Mercedes, where George Russell is regaining the sensations from the start of the year. Ferrari also hopes to make up ground over the long distance, which disappoints expectations at Zandvoort with a car still not very incisive on a single lap.
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McLaren from qualifying
Lando Norris took pole position by force at the Dutch Grand Prix, with an all-out attacking lap with nothing to lose. The world champion admitted he dared more than usual to make a difference in an increasingly tight Formula 1, with as many as 17 cars packed within just 1 second in Q1. Part of the credit goes to the team for the setup changes made after the Sprint, aimed at improving tire management in the race, but which nonetheless gave the drivers a bit more confidence on a single lap, crucial on a tricky track like Zandvoort.
The MCL40 confirms itself as an excellent car with the updates, but calling it the best of the lot is still premature. By the admission of those who drive it, new tires and low fuel on board masked McLaren’s shortcomings in qualifying. The papaya car struggles especially in slow corners, those that most impact the degradation of the rear tires in the race, as seen from Norris’s difficulties in the Sprint.
The update package from Hungary mainly improved competitiveness in fast corners, more abundant in Budapest compared to Zandvoort, where the wind also often blew tailwind through the slower corners, amplifying McLaren’s difficulties. In qualifying, the grip of the new tire compensated for this deficiency of the MCL40, but when in the race it will be necessary to grip the asphalt mainly through aerodynamic downforce, the situation could become critical. Fortunately for Norris and McLaren, overtaking in the Netherlands remains prohibitive, but securing the second win of the season will certainly not be taken for granted.
Mercedes still among the front runners
The main chasers of Lando Norris will be the two Mercedes, still absolute protagonists in the leading group despite the W17’s development being static for months. As happened in the Sprint qualifying, George Russell again leads the Brackley team. The British driver appears in great shape at Zandvoort, where he says he is experiencing the same sensations in the car as at the start of the year and in past seasons. According to him, behind the positive weekend there is no epiphany or change of approach, but simply a greater naturalness of driving. Instead of rationalizing everything to try to adapt his style to the 2026 cars, during the break George let what he learned in the first part of the season settle, now putting it into practice more intuitively.
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In any case, Russell will have to follow up on today’s good performance, with which he also managed to stay ahead of Antonelli by just 21 thousandths. Kimi reports having struggled throughout qualifying, fighting with an imperfect balance that gradually improved thanks to adjustments on the steering wheel. In Q3, however, the Italian then made a mistake in turn 1, also continuing to suffer from the one made in Friday’s qualifying, after which he no longer had the same confidence. That does not take away that the Italian can hope for the race, a scenario in which his qualities emerge more, also starting from the clean side of the grid.
Ferrari for the race on a qualifying track
Qualifying at Zandvoort can only cause disappointment for Ferrari, on a theoretically favorable track, also with the advantage of being the only car with significant updates. The fault is certainly not the choice, although risky, to do two laps to warm the tires in Q3 with rain coming, which, if anything, gave the advantage of being able to exploit the maximum evolution of the track. According to Hamilton, Ferrari needed to do a double preparation lap, given some difficulty in getting the tires up to temperature. At least, the setup changes benefited Sir Lewis’s confidence in the SF-26, which on the grid will start ahead of Leclerc, hindered by an incorrect power mode in the transition between Q2 and Q3.
Regardless of the circumstances, the qualifying result reflects Ferrari’s potential on a single lap, after a Sprint qualifying in which Leclerc’s excellent performance had raised fans’ hopes. In an increasingly tight group, perhaps the SF-26 is paying for a basic concept that favors race pace over Saturday competitiveness. “It’s not black or white,” Leclerc commented. “It’s not as simple as saying ‘Ok, I take a bit of pace from the race and put it into qualifying’ or the opposite. For the characteristics we have, [the car] works a bit better in the race than in qualifying.” Indeed, in the Sprint Leclerc showed excellent pace with the softs, also allowing Ferrari to gather valuable information on the softer compound. According to the competition, the Prancing Horse boasts the best race pace, but it will be difficult to capitalize on it on a track difficult for overtaking.
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