Lando Norris has set the pace during the opening practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix, the McLaren racer going fastest from team mate Oscar Piastri and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
After a few weeks without racing during the sport’s summer break, the drivers were greeted by dry but windy conditions as the session got underway at Zandvoort, with Nico Hulkenberg leading a queue of cars out of the pit lane when the green light appeared.
Most of the field had bolted on the medium compound for their opening runs, on a weekend in which Pirelli are celebrating their 500th World Championship Grand Prix.
Amid a busy start – with potentially heavy rain forecast for later in the day – Lewis Hamilton was the first to suffer a big moment, the Briton experiencing a 360-degree spin that triggered the yellow flags. “I’ve got flat spots all round,” Hamilton subsequently reported.
This was followed by a flurry of action as Yuki Tsunoda also had an off before Kimi Antonelli found himself beached in the gravel at Turn 9, resulting in the red flags being thrown while the marshals worked to recover his stricken Mercedes.
The session resumed with just over 40 minutes left on the clock, leading to another busy run on track. Max Verstappen had put himself at the top of the timesheets prior to the session stoppage, but Norris bettered that effort to lead a McLaren 1-2 at the halfway mark via his time of 1m 10.278s, four-tenths clear of Piastri.
Focus for most switched to the soft tyre laps as FP1 progressed, leading to Piastri cutting Norris’ advantage down to 0.292s, while Fernando Alonso was an eye-catching third for Aston Martin ahead of the Williams of Alex Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell.
Attentions then turned to the medium-shod long runs amid the final quarter of the hour, preparation that could prove crucial should rain limit the opportunity to get this mileage in during later sessions. Stroll, meanwhile, voiced his frustration over the radio after encountering a slow-moving Tsunoda out on track.
Norris’ earlier effort of 1m 10.278s remained unbeaten, meaning that the Briton ended the first FP1 back after the summer break on top. Piastri also stayed in P2, while Stroll impressed by slotting his Aston Martin into third during the latter stages.
Alonso followed in fourth in a solid showing for the British squad, with Albon behind in fifth from the Red Bull of Verstappen. But there was drama for the home hero after the chequered flag had fallen, having gone off track and become beached in the gravel following a practice start at Turn 1.
Russell – who had a trip across the gravel himself during the final minutes – Williams’ Carlos Sainz, Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto and the Alpine of Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
The Racing Bulls duo of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar claimed P11 and P12 respectively, ahead of Hulkenberg for Kick Sauber in P13. Ferrari, meanwhile, had a low-key outing in P14 and P15 for Charles Leclerc and Hamilton – Leclerc declaring that the team were “miles off”.
Tsunoda took 16th place in the Red Bull, with the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman claiming 17th and 19th while Alpine’s Franco Colapinto separated them in 18th. Antonelli was classified in 20th, having been unable to rejoin following his earlier off.
With the first hour of running now complete, the drivers and teams will examine their data and prepare for Friday’s second practice session, which is set to get underway at 1600 local time.
