Under challenging, windy conditions, the first free practice for the Dutch Grand Prix, the Dutch GP, was completed on Friday afternoon in Zandvoort. As expected, McLaren dominated with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, while Max Verstappen had to settle for the sixth-fastest time. The large number of empty seats in the stands was also noticeable.
There were plenty of incidents right from the start. For instance, Lewis Hamilton made a spectacular 360-degree spin in his Ferrari after about ten minutes, but apart from flat spots on his tires, he didn’t suffer any serious damage. The same more or less applies to Yuki Tsunoda (pictured above) who lost control of his car and shot through the gravel. The car was subjected to a thorough check in the garage as standard.
Shortly after, Kimi Antonelli caused the first red flag of the weekend. In turn nine, the 18-year-old Mercedes prodigy went straight on and then got stuck in the gravel trap.
More Excursions Through the Gravel
At the time of the short interruption, Max Verstappen was at the top of the time list on mediums with 1.12,101. Shortly after, the four-time world champion improved to 1.11,986. After the restart, there were again several excursions through the gravel, including one by Carlos Sainz. About halfway through the session, McLaren took control. Despite a minor slip, World Championship leader Oscar Piastri took over the fastest time from Verstappen, with 1.11,794, but was quickly replaced by teammate Lando Norris on softs (1.10,278).
With an eye on a threatening cloud cover and a high chance of rain during the second free practice, the teams essentially opted for a qualifying simulation, so on the soft compound. Verstappen recorded the sixth-fastest time on the softs, behind the McLarens of Norris and Piastri, the Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, and the Williams of Alexander Albon. With his time (1.11,218), he was almost a second behind the fastest time.
And the Ferraris? They were disappointingly in the backfield. Charles Leclerc finished with the fourteenth time, Lewis Hamilton with the fifteenth. George Russell (Mercedes) provided the final note of the session. Like his teammate Antonelli earlier, he went full through the gravel.
Top-10: Norris, Piastri, Stroll, Alonso, Albon, Verstappen, Russell, Sainz, Bortoleto, Gasly.
The second free practice is scheduled for later today, at 14:00 UTC.
