We've gone green and Q1 is under way.

We had a pretty closely fought affair in the sprint race and in yesterday's sprint qualifying. Will that pace continue into race qualifying today?

BBC Sounds

You can follow today's action in qualifying across the BBC, not just on this page.

To listen to commentary of today's qualifying session, you can either click the 'listen live' tab at the top of the page, head over to the BBC Sounds app and search for Sports Extra 3 if you're heading out or you can ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra".

All insight and analysis following today’s result will be available on the F1: Chequered Flag podcast this evening - just search 'F1' on BBC Sounds.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 224pts

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 171

3. George Russell (Mercedes) - 168

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 145

5. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 134

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 112

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 96

8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 68

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 43

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 43

Image source, Getty Images

Williams have confirmed their driver pairing for the 2027 season, with both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz signing new contracts during the summer break.

Albon, 30, has put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension, while 31-year-old Sainz is staying with the team into 2027 and beyond on "a multi-year" deal.

It's been a difficult campaign so far for Williams, who finished fifth in the constructors' championship last season but have now slipped behind Audi, Haas, Alpine and Racing Bulls.

However, four-time race winner Sainz said: "We have what it takes to turn this around together. I'm as committed as I was on day one to helping get Williams back to where it belongs, and I look forward to creating more memories with the team."

Albon, who is the team's longest-serving driver, added: "One tough year doesn't tell the full picture, and it only gives me more motivation to keep building and pushing together with the factory and our fans to achieve great things."

Image source, Marco Antonelli

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli has been making Formula 1 history this season and according to his father Marco, the Italian teenager was a natural driver at the age of three.

Seven years later, the pair were at the Adria circuit in north-east Italy, Marco with his Lamborghini sports car team, Kimi competing in a karting race.

It was the end of the day and Marco, a former driver himself, asked his son: "Do you want to try the Lamborghini?"

Of course he did.

"The car had a lot of oversteer. Kimi controlled the oversteer perfectly, then I went on the throttle, Kimi finished the oversteer, changed gear, and went," Marco tells F1 correspondent Andrew Benson.

"I said: 'OK, stop, because it has now become dangerous.' But when I saw the video, 10 years old, on my leg, oversteer, everything perfect, I said: 'Maybe he has something special.'"

Read Andrew Benson's in-depth interview with Marco Antonelli here

Image source, Mercedes F1

Image source, Reuters

Jennie Gow is joined by Marc Priestley and Kai Bachini to look ahead to the second half of the season, starting with this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix.

The team react to the news that Max Verstappen has signed a new Red Bull contract that will keep him with the team until the end of 2030, and discuss what to expect from Liam Lawson as he makes his return to Red Bull.

You can listen to the Chequered Flag podcast above or via BBC Sounds.

Image source, Getty Images

In the aftermath of his win in the sprint race earlier, George Russell acknowledged the threat that Ferrari posses this weekend.

Charles Leclerc battled his way into P2 earlier on, putting in an impressive showing on soft tyres, while Lewis Hamilton had a more reserved showing, finishing seventh on mediums having been held up by Max Verstappen.

"If there was one more lap it would have been a very different end to the race, so I was glad the rain came when it did. A really good start. The Ferraris look really fast so it's going to be a tight one this afternoon," Russell said.

"I knew if there were going to be any overtakes they'd be towards the end of the race I knew I just wanted to manage my tyres a little bit through the high speed corners and have a bit more in the tank come the end of the race. I knew if Charles got past Lando, he'd be fast and as soon as I saw Charles behind me, I dropped the hammer a little bit."

Jay Freeman
BBC Sport

So the rain came a bit too late to impact proceedings in the sprint race earlier and the threat of inclement weather hangs over this race weekend.

George Russell added eight points to his locker having won the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix sprint race earlier but can he set his Mercedes up for success tomorrow when qualifying kicks off.

Now, there's a fair chance of rain forecast for this evening in Zandvoort but none seems to be forecast for qualifying or tomorrow's race as things stand.

But the wind and drifting sand can still make their impact known.

Qualifying kicks off at 15:00 BST.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Zandvoort

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes' George Russell led from start to finish to win the sprint race at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Russell led a train of four cars for the entirety of the race but was always able to keep his pursuers at arm's length.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc passed McLaren's Lando Norris with six laps to go to take second ahead of the world champion, who fended off a late attack from Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli.

Russell's win cuts his deficit in the championship to Antonelli to 56 points, with Lewis Hamilton in second place.

The seven-time champion, who finished seventh behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, is three points ahead of Russell in the championship.

Read the full report here.

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell might have a fair old gap to bridge to his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the drivers' standings but he's clearly started as he means to go on.

He's got eight points out of the weekend so far but with changeable conditions on the horizon this weekend, the work does not stop there.

Ferrari and McLaren have looked in fine form at various points so far and with just how bunched up the front of the pack was in that sprint race, we could be in for a stormer of a qualifying session.

Speaking of which, we'll put a pin in this for now. Grab a break. We'll be back to take you through qualifying later today.

Join us at 14:45 BST when we get back under way. Q1 gets going at 15:00 BST.

See you in a bit.

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli on his fourth-placed finish: "It's a track where deployment is good. I was ambitious with the battery, after that, it wasn't easy.

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 224pts

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 171

3. George Russell (Mercedes) - 168

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 145

5. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 134

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 112

7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 96

8. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 68

9. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 43

10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 43

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff on George Russell's win: "He had his fair share of bad luck, winning today is a good start to the weekend. It's a good boost of confidence."

On Kimi Antonelli: "I think if you have a scare like he had in that last corner, maybe that's in the back of your mind for the rest of qualifying. He will reset today, he wasn't going to risk it for one point.

"I think everybody is absolutely on it at the moment, the drivers, the mechanics, they push themselves very hard.

"It's always a difficult track to overtake on. Tomorrow, with the pit stops, it will be different."

Image source, Getty Images

George Russell speaking after finishing P1: "Great start to the weekend. If there was one more lap it would have been a very different end to the race, so I was glad the rain came when it did. A really good start. The Ferraris look really fast so it's going to be a tight one this afternoon."

"I knew if there were going to be any overtakes they'd be towards the end of the race I knew I just wanted to manage my tyres a little bit through the high speed corners and have a bit more in the tank come the end of the race. I knew if Charles got past Lando, he'd be fast and as soon as I saw Charles behind me, I dropped the hammer a little bit."

Image source, Getty Images

Charles Leclerc after finishing second in the sprint and on starting with soft tyres: "Always when you are the only one doing something, it's either very right or very wrong. I think it was a good choice in the end. We did our homework. When I was on the grid, you just hope to have made the right choice.

"I knew Lando [Norris] didn't have much deployment on the main straights, so I knew I had to maximise that, breaking point is at the same level. It worked out, which is good. I did not expect to gain position at the end of the race with the soft tyres, if anything it was at the start but I didn't have a great start.

"The car is feeling good which is a good thing to start the second half of the season."

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris speaking after finishing P3 in the sprint race: "Not a bad result, not the best. Would have been nicer to be a little bit faster today. Charles was too quick. I don't think it was the tyres, we just lacked pace, we're not quick enough and we have some work to do.

"We're very good in high speed. The car's just not performing to the level it needs to in the slow speed corners. There's not a lot we can do, I think we're optimising a lot of things. It's still a good result, we still have to be happy with the progress we've been making but we need more. We'll see what we can do, the team have been working hard so hopefully we can do a better job."

1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 8pts

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 7

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 6

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 5

5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 4

6. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 3

7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 2

8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 1

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on Sports Extra 3

This is the right way to start the weekend for George Russell, he needs to keep this up over the weekend. A great performance from George which will give him a big confidence boost - exactly what he needed.

George Russell: Nice work today. That would've been a very sketchy last lap if the rain came down.

Toto Wolff: Well done George, ticked the first box of the weekend.

The drivers are sheepishly guiding their cars around the track following that sprint race, with the rain making conditions quite difficult out there.

Does make you wonder what the make-up of this sprint race might have been like had this rain arrived in five minutes earlier than it did.