Max sixth in Zandvoort Sprint: 'You simply cannot overtake here'

Published on 22 August 2026 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen crossed the line in sixth place during the Sprint race, finishing exactly where he started on the grid. Around the 4.252-kilometre seaside circuit through the Zandvoort dunes, Mercedes' George Russell claimed an untroubled Sprint victory ahead of Charles Leclerc in second for Ferrari, with McLaren's Lando Norris rounding out the podium in third. Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes and Oscar Piastri's McLaren completed the top five. Max’s new Oracle Red Bull Racing team-mate for the weekend, Liam Lawson, ended the Sprint in eleventh.

"Not a lot happened," Max reflected after the Sprint in Zandvoort. "Tyre degradation was fairly well under control, so that was a positive. It was just that I got stuck behind Piastri, who was struggling with his rear end. Massive oversteer. But then again, you simply cannot overtake around here, so that made it a tricky affair."

Looking ahead to the remainder of the weekend, Max added: "Hopefully we can try a few things now to at least unlock some single-lap pace, because that gap is obviously still significant."

Ahead of the Sprint, it emerged that Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz would be taking pit-lane starts after Aston Martin and Williams made set-up changes under parc fermé conditions.

Ambient temperatures sat at a rather brisk 17°C ahead of the 24-lap Sprint, with the track temperature registering at 24°C.

When the lights went out, the entire field got away cleanly with no drama among the front-runners. Russell immediately broke clear of Norris, while Antonelli found a way past Piastri. Max applied brief pressure on Piastri for P5 before gradually dropping off the Australian’s gearbox, which brought him under threat from Hamilton.

Nico Hülkenberg was forced to retire his Audi to the pits with mechanical issues, while Sergio Perez finally took to the track for his opening laps after being wheeled off the grid prior to the start.

Overtaking proved notoriously difficult around Zandvoort, underlined by the distinct lack of moves. Max managed to shake off Hamilton's threat, building a buffer of over two seconds to the Briton. Behind race leader Russell, Leclerc was crawling all over the back of Norris, while Antonelli piled the pressure onto the soft-shod Ferrari. Max looked quicker than Piastri ahead and closed in on the Australian, but catching is one thing, passing is quite another. Unable to find a way past, Max watched Hamilton close back in on the Red Bull.

At the sharp end, the only real battle was between Norris and Leclerc for second and third. On lap 18, the Monegasque driver capitalised down the main straight, slipstreaming past the reigning World Champion and instantly pulling a gap. Antonelli then turned up the heat on Norris but couldn't make an immediate move stick. Williams warned over the radio that rain could arrive in the closing laps to spice things up.

Apart from a few stray drops, the rain held off until after the chequered flag, sealing victory for Russell ahead of Leclerc and Norris. Max took sixth behind Antonelli and Piastri, turning his attention to qualifying later this afternoon.

Scale models of the special Delft Blue 2026 Dutch GP helmet are available via Verstappen.com.

Results sprint race Netherlands: