> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Winners and losers from 2026 Dutch GP qualifying - URL: https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/winners-and-losers-from-2026-dutch-gp-qualifying/ - Published: 2026-08-22T16:47:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-22T16:47:54.000Z - Description: Our winners and losers from Dutch GP qualifying at Zandvoort - Author: The Race Team - Tags: Formula 1, #dutch-grand-prix, #primary_homepage_feature Our picks for the winners and losers from a highly competitive and close F1 qualifying session for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. ## Loser: Aston Martin Honda (18th and 19th) Progress from sprint qualifying, no doubt, but it was [Lance Stroll’s verdict](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/strolls-bleak-verdict-on-hondas-f1-engine-upgrade/) on Honda’s step forward that was most telling after qualifying. He called it a “small step” and said it’s “not nearly enough”. Plus, it’s also created unwanted driveability issues that were first flagged in the Hungaroring filming day debut. It means the drivers are heading into corner entries uncertain of how much power they’ll have, and whether they’ll be fired off the road like Fernando Alonso was in SQ1 on Friday. “It's a lottery. Right now we're just not getting the consistent engine braking, going into the corner and a lot of rejected downshifts. So, yeah, a lot of issues,” was Stroll’s summary. Those driveability issues need to be solved back at Honda HQ in Sakura, Japan, rather than trackside. So it’s unrealistic to expect improvements until Monza - where it could be even more punishing. Both drivers were effusive about the step with the chassis Aston Martin made in Hungary, but right now, according to the drivers, the spec 2 Honda hasn’t matched that. - **Josh Suttill** ## Winner: Lando Norris (1st) The reigning champion took his second-straight pole position and the second non-Mercedes pole position of 2026 - holding off both Mercedes drivers on Saturday afternoon in Zandvoort. As the rain fell at the end of Q3, Norris held George Russell off as the Mercedes driver loomed in his wing mirrors, looking to overtake and gain clean air. That spot ahead of the Mercedes in Q3 proved pivotal to Norris’s pole lap. “It doesn't get any better, a little surprised honestly. A decent lap, I was pushing as you've seen how close it is, every one-hundredth can make a difference,” he said. “A good turnaround from earlier where I felt we struggled a little bit." This turnaround could prove crucial given that since Zandvoort returned in 2021, the Dutch Grand Prix has been won from pole position. - **Samarth Kanal** ## Winner: Liam Lawson (8th) Over five qualifying segments, Liam Lawson was an average of 0.128s off Max Verstappen at Zandvoort. Max Verstappen! It’s a result basically worth throwing a party for if you’re Lawson or one of his fans. In two of those segments he beat Verstappen, and in the final one that counted, he was 0.115s off. Verstappen’s almost impossible to beat. This Red Bull is so tough to drive. But still, Lawson has found a way to be relevant despite his lack of preparation stepping in for Isack Hadjar. After how badly his first Red Bull stint went, you can understand why nobody is linking him with a permanent return to the works team. But that aside, he’s done about as well as you’d expect any driver to in these circumstances. - **Jack Benyon** ## Loser: Ferrari (5th and 6th) Ferrari’s qualifying hoodoo continues as the team just can’t get it going on Saturdays. Hamilton and Leclerc are incredibly competitive on qualifying pace and were split by just 0.064s on Saturday afternoon - having been almost six-tenths apart in Friday’s sprint qualifying. But that’s really as positive as it gets. Leclerc explained that Ferrari made “mistakes in changing modes, power modes from Q2 to Q3\. “That put me off a little bit with the feeling I had with the car and we'll have to look into it," he said. "But I don't think the potential for pole position was there anyway.” Hamilton pointed towards poor tyre warm-up for his qualifying woes, but hopes Ferrari’s strong race pace can provide the consolation. With a solid start, the Scuderia could at least stay on the tail of the leading pack on Sunday - although the podium might be a stretch given how hard it is to overtake at Zandvoort. - **SK** ## Loser: Pierre Gasly (11th) There was a lot of hype about the upgraded Alpine of Pierre Gasly leading the midfield in sprint qualifying on Friday, but fast-forward to qualifying proper a day later and Gasly was left perplexed and out in Q2. “If it was the absolute best lap and everything felt amazing and we're a tenth off, then it would be more concerning. I just think things didn't quite click yet,” was Gasly’s glass-half-full take on the situation. Clearly the upgrades are a step forward, but Alpine hasn’t worked out exactly how to get the best out of them. That’s annoying as the sprint race showed how important qualifying is here, and the race will be tough tomorrow in terms of overtaking, at least to match Gasly’s P8 from the sprint race. But he’s right ultimately that there’s no need to panic here. It’s just a case of inexperience with an upgrade package introduced early on one car only. - **JB** ## Loser: Ollie Bearman (20th) After being very critical of Haas’s car development on Thursday, Ollie Bearman followed that up with two Q1 exits behind his team-mate at Zandvoort, bagging 20th on Saturday, which was his worst result of the season so far. “We did a few small changes \[after the sprint\], but there's not really much that we can do, to be honest with you,” Bearman said. “We always end up running the same configuration, because it's the only way we can get any remnants of performance out of the car, and yeah, it's just not worked.” Esteban Ocon pointed to the [parts inconsistency issues](https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/is-this-f1-2026-team-mate-fight-too-skewed-to-trust/) affecting Bearman this weekend, which means "Every time you put a car down, you flip a coin and one car will work, one car will not". This weekend, Bearman's isn't. - **JB** ## Winner: Gabriel Bortoleto (9th) A huge slide at the exit of Turn 1 in Q1 nearly ended Bortoleto’s qualifying session early - yet he recovered, and then some. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” he exclaimed on the radio after he took too much of the kerbs and had to reset. The Brazilian driver recovered to 10th in Q1 and then went three-tenths faster than team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in Q2\. He conceded it was a “scary moment” - and he almost repeated it in the following sessions - attributing his Q1 moment to the gusts around Zandvoort. The Audi driver also outqualified Racing Bulls’s Arvid Lindblad (P10) and the upgraded Alpine of Gasly (P11). Having missed out on a point in the sprint, Bortoleto now has a chance to score points for the third time in four weekends. - **SK**