2026 F1 Dutch GP - full analysis with Peter Windsor

George Russell, quickest for Mercedes.

Very, very nice lap.

Basically super quick out of turn three.

That's the banked left-hander they used to know and love as the Hunzarag corner behind the pits when it was a great corner.

Now it's a banked corner, and it's not as dramatic in terms of what the driver's required to do.

It's quite dramatic in terms of on boards and TV, which I suppose is the main thing about banked corners.

But George really quick on acceleration out of there.

Not so quick into what used to be Scheivlak, the very fast right-hander at the back, now turn seven, but very, very good and concise through all the slow corners that followed.

But get this, in terms of George's nearest opposition, we'll put Kimi to one side, we'll talk about him in a second, in terms of the McLarens and the quickest of the Ferraris, Charles Leclerc, George Russell was in trouble in terms of being on the pole.

But in that last stretch from turn 14 down to the start-finish line, he was 14 kilometers an hour quicker than Charles Leclerc, eight to nine kilometers an hour quicker than both McLaren, Mercedes.

That is where the pole came for the factory Mercedes driver.

Mercedes, better job with simulations, you could say.

Maybe it's their gearing.

They're still running very long gearing, not getting eighth gear before Scheivlak, before turn seven, whereas the McLarens and the Red Bulls getting eighth and then back to seventh, whereas the, the factory Mercedes drivers staying in seventh and going back to sixth.

But we've seen that all year.

Maybe it matters coming out of turn 14.

But the difference in speed, in top speed, as they went over the start-finish line was so great that if you weren't watching, you would think, if you're only watching the telemetry, you'd think, "Oh, George has got a tow here.

He's got to have got a tow." But no.

So I don't know.

Welcome again to the 2026 [chuckles] engine regulations.

Question mark number one, where did that top speed come from for George Russell? Anyway, it was enough to get him the pole.

He was delighted, obviously, to be on the pole for the sprint race at Zandvoort, where it's very difficult to overtake.

It's a big thing.

And then beyond that, to beat his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who out of the box on Friday morning in the untimed session looked really, really quick, and then it kind of went wrong for Kimi.

He spun coming out of the chicane on one lap.

George Russell, quickest for Mercedes.

Very, very nice lap.

Basically super quick out of turn three.

That's the banked left-hander they used to know and love as the Hunzarag corner behind the pits when it was a great corner.

Now it's a banked corner, and it's not as dramatic in terms of what the driver's required to do.

It's quite dramatic in terms of on boards and TV, which I suppose is the main thing about banked corners.

But George really quick on acceleration out of there.

Not so quick into what used to be Scheivlak, the very fast right-hander at the back, now turn seven, but very, very good and concise through all the slow corners that followed.

But get this, in terms of George's nearest opposition, we'll put Kimi to one side, we'll talk about him in a second, in terms of the McLarens and the quickest of the Ferraris, Charles Leclerc, George Russell was in trouble in terms of being on the pole.

But in that last stretch from turn 14 down to the start-finish line, he was 14 kilometers an hour quicker than Charles Leclerc, eight to nine kilometers an hour quicker than both McLaren, Mercedes.

That is where the pole came for the factory Mercedes driver.

Mercedes, better job with simulations, you could say.

Maybe it's their gearing.

They're still running very long gearing, not getting eighth gear before Scheivlak, before turn seven, whereas the McLarens and the Red Bulls getting eighth and then back to seventh, whereas the, the factory Mercedes drivers staying in seventh and going back to sixth.

But we've seen that all year.

Maybe it matters coming out of turn 14.

But the difference in speed, in top speed, as they went over the start-finish line was so great that if you weren't watching, you would think, if you're only watching the telemetry, you'd think, "Oh, George has got a tow here.

He's got to have got a tow." But no.

So I don't know.

Welcome again to the 2026 [chuckles] engine regulations.

Question mark number one, where did that top speed come from for George Russell? Anyway, it was enough to get him the pole.

He was delighted, obviously, to be on the pole for the sprint race at Zandvoort, where it's very difficult to overtake.

It's a big thing.

And then beyond that, to beat his teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who out of the box on Friday morning in the untimed session looked really, really quick, and then it kind of went wrong for Kimi.

He spun coming out of the chicane on one lap.