F1 practice LIVE: Charles Leclerc fastest in FP2 as Oscar Piastri signs for McLaren
Follow all the reaction to second practice this afternoon at the Dutch Grand Prix after Mercedes went fastest in FP1
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Your support makes all the difference.The Formula 1 season continues after its return in Belgium last week with this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, with Max Verstappen holding a healthy 93-point lead in the World Championship with eight races to go.
The Red Bull star stormed to victory at Spa-Francorchamps at the weekend, winning by a margin of 18 seconds to team-mate Sergio Perez despite starting in P14 due to an engine penalty; Carlos Sainz took the other podium spot as he held off George Russell late on, while Charles Leclerc finished sixth.
Lewis Hamilton retired for the first time this season following a first-lap collision with the Alpine of Fernando Alonso; the Mercedes star admitted responsibility for the incident afterwards and despite Alonso’s “idiot” comment over team radio, the former McLaren duo have since buried the hatchet.
This weekend sees F1 roll into Zandvoort, which returned to the calendar last year when Verstappen comfortably won his home Grand Prix in front of his adoring home fans amid a fever-pitch atmosphere on the Dutch coast. The Mercedes duo of Russell and Hamilton earned Mercedes a one-two in first practice with Sainz third and Verstappen stopping after just 10 minutes due to a transmission issue. Second practice saw Leclerc lead a Ferrari one-two ahead of Sainz, with Hamilton third and Verstappen down in eighth with the news of Oscar Piastri signing for McLaren the main talking point from Friday.
Follow all the action here with The Independent:
F1 practice: Verstappen in trouble
Smoke! The crowd have gone silent as Max Verstappen has pulled up with smoke flowing out of the back of his car.
‘Something went in the gearbox’ he says over the team radio. This isn’t great for Red Bull who seem shocked by this turn of events.
F1 practice: McLaren start strong
The McLaren’s are having a good run out there with Daniel Ricciardo managing to go 0.003 seconds quicker than Max Verstappen.
The world champion follows it up with a lap of 1:14.714. He’s just getting quicker and quicker.
F1 practice: Norris fastest in early stages
After a few warm-up laps around the track the pace setting laps are coming in. McLaren’s Lando Norris is the early leader with a time of 1:15.646 on the hard tyres.
He doesn’t stay there for long though as Max Verstappen follows him across the line in 1:15.266.
F1 practice: Schumacher in the gravel
‘What the hell!’ says Mick Schumacher after his Haas skids onto the gravel after he fails to make one of the many tight turns. It looked like a temporary power failure but he manages to recover it and continue his lap.
That was a strange one.
F1 practice: Verstappen out on track
Championship leader, Max Verstappen, heads out for his first lap at his home race. As he passes the grandstand there’s a loud cheer from the watching fans.
Already there’s a bit of traffic building up in the final sector with Verstappen getting stuck behind Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin.
F1 practice: Who will be quickest around Zandvoort?
The circuit at Zandvoort is being referred as an ‘old school’ track with narrow corners, bumpy tarmac and lots of twist and turns. It’ll be a test for all the drivers this weekend.
The weather conditions are perfect for today’s practice.
The first session is about to get underway and the crowds have packed in. They all want to get a look at Max Verstappen who has already driven into the pit lane to kick off this session.
F1 practice: Russell echoes Hamilton’s comments
George Russell agrees with Lewis Hamilton’s comments about Mercedes’ single lap pace and discussed how the Silver Arrows’ can improve their chances at Zandvoort.
“[Being faster in the race than in qualifying has] definitely been a bit of a theme for us this season: we’re still yet to fully understand why we have such a big swing, to be honest.” said Russell, “The swing is probably less compared to Red Bull but when you look at it compared to the midfield, we’re often being outqualified by an Alpine or a McLaren.
“I was pretty disappointed not to get third position [in Belgium] because I thought had I done things slightly differently it would have been possible, but we just need to overcome our single lap struggles.
“It’s a shorter lap [at Zandvoort than at Spa], so I don’t think the gaps will be as big! I think, I’m sure Max [Verstappen] and Red Bull are going to be in prime position and they’re going to be very competitive.
“We’ve got reason to believe that it may be slightly better than Spa, but I think Spa was also a circuit that brought out the worst in our car, so to be honest, we’re always going in with an open mind now.”
F1 practice: Verstappen favourite to win Dutch GP
Max Verstappen is the favourite with the bookies to win the Dutch GP as well as being the fastest driver in qualifying. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are down at 16/1 and 18/1 respectively to win this weekend’s race.
Here are the latest odds from SBK:
F1 Dutch GP winner
Max Verstappen 8/13
Charles Leclerc 9/2
Carlos Sainz 10/1
Sergio Perez 14/1
Lewis Hamilton 16/1
George Russell 18/1
F1 Dutch qualifying winner
Max Verstappen 4/6
Charles Leclerc 5/2
Carlos Sainz 8/1
Sergio Perez 8/1
George Russell 20/1
Lewis Hamilton 20/1
F1 practice: Hamilton praises Russell’s drive in Belgium
Speaking about Mercedes’ rough weekend at the Belgium Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton was full of praise for team-mate George Russell who managed a P4 finish at Spa but once again questioned Mercedes’ race pace against the leading Red Bull cars.
“George did a great job in the last race, as he continues to do during the year,” said Hamilton. “It’s definitely tough because I think I probably could have come second in the last race if I’d done the job I was supposed to do, but you live and you learn.
“We don’t have the pace, naturally, over a single lap – that’s something that we’re trying to work on – but race pace is definitely key in some places, so I’m thinking that we just have to keep on working on that, not lose our race potential, but try and improve our single lap [pace].”
F1 practice: Ricciardo on ‘festival atmosphere’ at Dutch GP
McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo is excited to be back in the Netherlands for this week’s Dutch Grand Prix and compares the atmosphere here to being at a music festival especially when the fans are going wild for current world champion - and Dutch native - Max Verstappen.
“I have a lot of Dutch friends who are very energetic and enthusiastic about life,” he said. “If you want to find a group of people to have a good time, the Dutch are certainly a group who will take you up on that offer.
“I think that it is emphasised and heightened with Max [Verstappen], their support for him, and the fact he is fighting for a Championship.
“They have also got a very big music culture in the Netherlands, and some of the biggest DJs in the world are Dutch. The whole atmosphere feels like a bit of a house festival, which is another of the reasons why it’s so cool. I feel like I got amongst it last year.”
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