Winners and losers from sprint qualifying at F1's Dutch GP
The Dutch Grand Prix sprint qualifying session saw mixed results for drivers, with Liam Lawson performing well as a stand-in and Fernando Alonso suffering a mechanical failure. Max Verstappen struggled with his car's balance, while Yuki Tsunoda showed promise in his debut qualifying session.
Why it matters
Performance in sprint qualifying is critical for determining starting positions in F1, impacting the competitive landscape of the championship.
Formula 1 Winners and losers from sprint qualifying at F1's Dutch GP Josh Suttill, Jack Benyon, Valentin Khorounzhiy, Ben Anderson 21 Aug 2026 — 6 min read Formula 1's first competitive session in almost a month delivered a closely fought battle for sprint pole and some interesting intra-team victories.
Below are our picks for the biggest winners and losers from sprint qualifying at Zandvoort.
Despite a disappointing SQ2 outcome relative to what he'd managed in SQ1, it's ultimately fair to say Liam Lawson is holding up his end of the bargain.
But the RB22 does appear fourth-best here, and a fourth-best enough that Max Verstappen's sixth is an arguable overperformance. As Verstappen himself put it, sounding a little sardonic: "I guess we outqualified one car."
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