Can Russell and Mercedes keep their rivals at bay in Zandvoort?

It was mighty close between Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in Sprint Qualifying at the Dutch Grand Prix, with less than a tenth of a second separating the top four positions (which featured three different teams), so Sprint pole position just came down to whoever did the best job on the day. And on Friday afternoon, when it mattered, it was George Russell who delivered the goods to take pole for the Sprint at Zandvoort.

That was a heck of a lap from George Russell. Where did that pace come from?

It had been building from practice, where the Mercedes driver popped up to third, just over a tenth of a second off the pace set by his team mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Come Sprint Qualifying, he was there or thereabouts (fifth and fourth respectively) in the first two phases of the session on the medium tyres.