ZANDVOORT: In the Dutch Grand Prix practice sessions on Friday, Mercedes and McLaren emerged as the leading teams, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, competing in front of his home crowd, only managing fifth fastest.
In the second session, Mercedes’ George Russell set the fastest time with a lap of 1:10.702 seconds, following earlier weather disruptions at the seaside Zandvoort circuit. McLaren’s Lando Norris led the opening session with a time of 1:12.322.
Australian driver Oscar Piastri from McLaren was second in the afternoon session, just 0.061 seconds behind Russell. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished third, with Norris fourth.
“It’s been a good Friday. The pace looks pretty solid over one lap and the long run pace looks decent so far,” Piastri commented.
Verstappen, who has won every race at Zandvoort from pole position since the track’s return to the calendar in 2021, struggled in practice. He was 0.284 seconds slower than Russell and had to settle for fifth. His teammate Sergio Perez finished 12th but was only 0.025 seconds off Norris’s time.
“We didn’t quite have the pace on the long and short runs and there isn’t a clear answer on how to improve this, but we will look into things,” Verstappen said. “It’s not surprising given our recent performance, but we need to find more speed ahead of qualifying.”
Despite speculation about Perez’s future with the team, Red Bull boss Christian Horner defended the decision to retain him. “We believe Perez is among the most capable drivers for us. If we had doubts, we would have made a change. We’re fully supporting him and want to see him bounce back,” Horner stated.
McLaren, starting the second half of the season with an upgraded car, and resurgent Mercedes, who have won three of the last four races, both look strong. Verstappen leads Norris by 78 points in the championship standings after 14 of the 24 races. Sunday’s race will mark Verstappen’s 200th Formula One start.
In the first session, weather conditions limited the number of timed laps, but as conditions improved, the track became busier. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished ninth in the second session, while teammate Carlos Sainz was 19th after a gearbox issue limited his running to just seven laps.
“I will do everything to maximize my performance in qualifying, but the gaps we’re seeing are too big to make a significant impact at the moment,” Leclerc said.
