Max Verstappen was fifth best at his home circuit.
ZANDVOORT, The Netherlands—George Russell set the fastest Friday afternoon practice and the best time, with a 1:10:702 just ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Russell’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Russell had the best time set midway through the session, where, at the earliest part of the afternoon, most drivers went out on medium tires before a quick session that involved softs. That is where Russell and the top five set their best times before returning to the mediums and taking laps practicing for race conditions.
Lando Norris headed the best of the rest and took the morning session, which involved rain and then clearing with a good amount of wind. The wind continued even throughout the drier second session, and many felt that it was not just the car that could move, but it might have been aided by the wind, which comes off the North Sea shore nearby.
Max Verstappen was fifth fastest in his home race and complained much about the car not feeling right. At the session’s conclusion, he had to pit, unable to get a quick lap in due to heavy traffic.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso took a quiet sixth place, followed by RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, continuing to impress with his results. Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen finished–a good start for him–the flip side of Charles Leclerc’s disappointing Ferrari performance in ninth. The Williams with Alex Albon rounded out the top ten.
Driving a Haas, Nico Hulkenberg had a backward spin at Tarzan corner with 45 minutes left in the session, delaying everything for six minutes while they removed his car. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz never got out of the garage, having to sit out the session with a gearbox issue.
It could be an issue if Red Bull does not perform at this race, as McLaren is now closing in on its rivals. Norris trails Verstappen by 78 points, and the Constructors have McLaren trailing Red Bull by 72 with ten races to go.
