Charles Leclerc will start the Zandvoort Sprint from third place after producing what he described as his best qualifying lap of the 2026 season. The Ferrari driver finished just 0.055 seconds behind George Russell in an exceptionally close Sprint Qualifying session, with reigning world champion Lando Norris also managing to squeeze ahead of the Monegasque.
Missing out on the front row by such a tiny margin inevitably brought some frustration, but Charles Leclerc still had plenty of reason to smile after climbing out of the SF-26. More importantly, the feeling he found with the Ferrari around Zandvoort appeared considerably more positive than at several other points this season.
Charles Leclerc just 0.055s from Sprint pole at Zandvoort
Despite being only 55 milliseconds away from George Russell’s fastest time, Charles Leclerc will not start the Zandvoort Sprint from the front row. Lando Norris secured second place in a fiercely contested session, leaving the Ferrari driver third on the grid.
Nevertheless, Charles Leclerc’s mood contrasted sharply with that of Lewis Hamilton, who described his own SQ3 lap as a “total disaster”. Charles Leclerc, by comparison, appeared much more comfortable with the SF-26 on the twisty Dutch circuit.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the session, Charles Leclerc explained why the performance gave him encouragement despite narrowly missing pole position.
“Clearly I would have preferred to start further ahead, but in the end I’m very happy with today because I think it was my best qualifying lap of the year,” the Ferrari number 16 said. “That means we’re doing something right in terms of finding the feeling that hasn’t always been there this season.”
Charles Leclerc encouraged by improving SF-26 feeling
For Charles Leclerc, the significance of the lap went beyond the third-place starting position. His comments suggested that Ferrari is making progress in giving him the confidence he has not consistently felt from the SF-26 during the campaign.
“It’s a good step in that direction, especially after the break. It’s nice to find this kind of feeling again,” Charles Leclerc continued. “It was a good performance. Unfortunately, we were still missing something to be on pole, but at least we are in the fight.”
That final margin underlined just how close the battle was at the front. Charles Leclerc came within 0.055 seconds of George Russell’s benchmark but still had to settle for the second row behind the Mercedes and Lando Norris.
Race pace remains harder to judge ahead of the Sprint
Charles Leclerc was also pleased with how quickly he had found confidence in the car from the start of the Zandvoort weekend, although he was more cautious when assessing Ferrari’s race pace.
“I felt quite comfortable with the car from this morning,” Charles Leclerc added. “In terms of race pace, it’s a little more difficult because the conditions this morning were more complicated. We have to wait and see how the Sprint goes tomorrow. For now, though, it seems like a positive start to the weekend.”
Third place therefore leaves Charles Leclerc with a mixture of satisfaction and regret. Pole position was within a fraction of a second, but the quality of his lap and the improved feeling with the SF-26 gave the Ferrari driver encouragement heading into the next phase of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend.
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