Here is the full transcript of our report from the first free practice session:
Good morning and welcome back to Zandvoort as F1 is back from the summer break.
The drivers will be thrown straight into the deep on one of the most challenging and demanding circuits of on the calendar. Championship leader Max Verstappen is on home soil and is looking to continue his 100 per cent record at the Dutch Grand Prix since the event returned in 2021. Perhaps more importantly, Verstappen could equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine consecutive wins with victory this Sunday. But, the four-week break and the prospect of wet weather could provide the likes of Mercedes, McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin the chance to stop the Dutchman.
Aston Martin have brought a big upgrade package to Zandvoort in a bid to get their season back on track, including a new floor and diffuser. Fernando Alonso scored six podiums from the opening eight events but the team were overhauled by McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari in the races leading up to the summer break. The Maranello team will not introduce any major updates for this weekend.
Away we go for Practice One and there are already plenty of cars out there. Everyone apart from the Aston Martins and Alex Albon are on track.
56 mins to go: It’s a 1:15.393 for Max Verstappen on his first flying lap which is the early benchmark time. For comparison, the Dutchman’s pole lap last year was a 1:10.342, so don’t read too much into that time.
53 mins to go: Now it’s George Russell at the top with a 1:14.901, also on the hards. Lewis Hamilton is sixth at the moment, with 11 drivers on the timing sheet after seven minutes. Ferrari have opted to run one of their young drivers in this session, with Robert Shwartzman taking the place of Carlos Sainz. He currently sits 11th and just over two seconds off the pace.
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49 mins to go: Hamilton was briefly on top but Verstappen goes quicker by 0.679s to go into the 1:13s. Still no signs of the Aston Martins on flying laps yet. They have done installation laps but pitted each time as they continue to test their new upgrades.
In the rarely seen No. 39 Ferrari, Robert Shwartzman appears to be finding the going tricky early on. He is currently last among drivers who have set a lap time, down in 15th. However, the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc is currently only 12th, so they wouldn’t appear to be running too racier set up at the moment.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll has headed back to the pits with an issue: “Box, we have an issue,” Stroll is told. “Yeah there is a funny noise,” he replies.
33 mins to go: Hamilton improves his time to get within half a second of Verstappen. It’s Russell in third, then Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.
32 mins to go: Fernando Alonso has a trip through the gravel at Turn 11 but carries on. He pits immediately so the team can check for any floor damage.
31 mins to go: He might be on the softs but it’s a very good lap from Logan Sargeant to go fastest by 0.377s. Still no lap times for Yuki Tsunoda, Lando Norris and Lance Stroll, who could be in the garage for a while as Aston Martin investigate an issue with the car.
27 mins to go: More drivers are on the softs now including Sergio Perez, who goes just 0.008s quicker than Alex Albon. That lap from Perez is faster than the time from Practice One at Zandvoort 12 months ago.
23 mins to go: Max Verstappen was on a flying lap and on the approach to the fast Turn 7, he comes across two cars. The Red Bull driver backs out of it and is now back in the pit lane.
Red flag: Nico Hulkenberg has crashed at the penultimate corner and the session is stopped with 17 minutes to go. The Haas driver simply lost the rear of his car on entry and brushed the barrier. But, Zandvoort is old-school so Hulkenberg can’t get out of the gravel trap.
11 mins to go: Great work from the marshals at Zandvoort as they clear the track and we are back to green for the final part of Practice One. Lance Stroll is out for the remainder of this Practice session due to a power unit issue. Aston Martin have said: “Lance has a suspected power unit issue which is being investigated, bringing an end to his FP1 running.” Stroll had completed two out laps earlier before reporting a “funny noise”.
7 mins to go: A fastest final sector from Verstappen helps him to the top of the time sheets by 0.471s from Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez to make it a 1-2. Most drivers are on the softs, so the leaderboard could change a lot.
4 mins to go: Alonso has had his car checked after going through the gravel and is back out onto the track and looking quick, jumping above Hamilton into second, just over two tenths off Verstappen. Hamilton is now third and Perez fourth.
Charles Leclerc looks like he will end the session down in 16th, although he hasn’t run the softs. Robert Shwartzman is struggling with the rear of his car, so is 2.9s off Verstappen’s leading time in 19th.
Chequered flag: Hamilton was on a fast lap but decides to back out before Turn 11. No one else appears to be going faster, so that’s it for Practice One from Zandvoort. It’s the perfect start for Max Verstappen.
Practice One: Top Ten
1) Verstappen – 1:11.852
2) Alonso – +0.278
3) Hamilton – +0.373
4) Perez – +0.471
5) Albon – +0.595
6) Norris – +0.608
7) Sargeant – +0.765
8) Piastri – +0.806
9) Tsunoda – +0.897
10) Ocon – +0.950
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