Ferrari completed the only free practice session of the Dutch Grand Prix in fourth and fifth place, with the SF-26 showing particularly encouraging race pace despite neither Lewis Hamilton nor Charles Leclerc using the new floor. The opening evidence from Zandvoort suggests an extremely close battle involving Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes, while Red Bull appeared to have more work to do with its balance.
The session was far from straightforward to interpret because track conditions evolved rapidly, but the indications point towards an intriguing weekend. Ferrari’s immediate balance was particularly encouraging, while the gaps between the leading cars remained small enough to make a four-way fight for pole position a realistic possibility ahead of qualifying.
Ferrari competitive from the start of Dutch GP practice
The only practice session of the Dutch Grand Prix offered few simple conclusions in terms of outright performance, yet it produced several interesting clues. Three of Formula 1’s four leading teams appeared to start strongly, with Red Bull the exception as it encountered more than one difficulty, including with the car’s balance.
McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari produced extremely similar performance throughout the session. Their relative positions appeared to change more because of the rapidly evolving track conditions than because any one of the three teams held a clear advantage.
That close competitive picture follows expectations that Zandvoort could suit several characteristics of the Ferrari SF-26, particularly through the circuit’s combination of demanding corners and traction zones.
Ferrari SF-26 balance impresses even without the new floor
For the Maranello team, the start was decidedly promising. The SF-26 displayed excellent balance almost immediately, with a strong front end and a rear axle capable of following progressively without becoming unstable, including under traction, despite the circuit not offering ideal grip conditions.
The low temperatures also appeared to help the Italian car. At the same time, there were differences between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc in the way the two drivers prepared their tyres.
Lewis Hamilton appeared able to produce a better lap time than Charles Leclerc primarily because of more effective preparation of the front tyres at the beginning of the lap, combined with his interpretation of Turns 8, 9 and 10. Charles Leclerc, by contrast, already appeared to struggle at Turn 1 with a front end that was not completely optimal.
However, the picture changed later around the lap. From Turn 12 onwards, Charles Leclerc showed an extremely strong rear end throughout the acceleration sequence leading through the final banked corner and onto the finish line. It was therefore no coincidence that the Monegasque recorded the fastest overall time in the third sector.
Ferrari’s apparent weakness, at least for now, remains its single-lap performance and its ability to extract all the available potential from the soft tyre. Even so, the differences compared with McLaren and Mercedes were very small. By contrast, the race simulations completed by both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were extremely encouraging.
Ferrari faces decision over fitting its new SF-26 floor
One important question remains: whether Ferrari will use its new floor. Neither Charles Leclerc nor Lewis Hamilton ran the major new component during practice because the team wanted to protect the only examples available.
That creates an interesting decision before qualifying. Given the positive balance already demonstrated by the SF-26, Ferrari must consider whether fitting the new floor without having tested it on track could risk disturbing a car that is already behaving well.
The component forms part of the latest Ferrari SF-26 upgrade package for Zandvoort, making the decision particularly significant. The team must now weigh the expected performance gain against the risk of changing a set-up and balance that produced encouraging feedback straight away.
McLaren remains a major threat at Zandvoort
McLaren also showed further progress with the MCL40 at the beginning of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. Aerodynamic load appears to be becoming less of a limitation, while the front end continues to improve and provides strong performance through the faster sections.
A direct comparison between Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris highlights how closely matched the cars appeared. Lando Norris held a slight advantage through the high-speed sections, while Ferrari was clearly stronger in the slow corners. Those contrasting strengths effectively brought their lap times back towards one another.
It therefore appears reasonable to consider Lando Norris a contender for pole position and the leading positions throughout the weekend, particularly after McLaren also introduced rear-end updates to the MCL40 for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Kimi Antonelli fastest but ideal laps reveal hidden Ferrari pace
Mercedes should not be overlooked either, particularly because Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time of the session. The W17 appeared broadly comparable with McLaren and Ferrari, although it did not look especially easy to extract the maximum from, with George Russell experiencing more difficulty than Kimi Antonelli over a single lap.
In overall performance terms, the Mercedes did not appear to possess a substantial advantage. An important detail comes from the drivers’ ideal laps. On his fastest attempt, Kimi Antonelli combined his best individual sectors, as did Lewis Hamilton. Lando Norris, however, left around 0.25 seconds compared with his theoretical best, while Charles Leclerc left as much as 0.36 seconds on the table.
That figure is particularly significant for Ferrari because Charles Leclerc’s actual position on the timing sheet does not fully represent the potential demonstrated across his individual sectors. Combined with the encouraging long-run performance, it reinforces the impression that the SF-26 could have more to offer as the weekend develops.
Four-way fight for Dutch GP pole appears possible
Making a firm prediction for qualifying remains extremely difficult after just one practice session. Nevertheless, the evidence from the opening running makes a four-way battle for pole position involving Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc a plausible scenario.
The remaining question is whether Max Verstappen and Red Bull can find a better compromise with their set-up and join that fight. The other leading teams will also continue adjusting their cars before the first official competitive session of the weekend, meaning the balance of performance could still shift significantly.
Ferrari nevertheless has several encouraging signs to take from practice. The SF-26 began the weekend with a strong balance, both drivers delivered impressive race simulations and Charles Leclerc’s theoretical lap suggests additional single-lap performance remains available. The biggest immediate decision is now whether to preserve that successful baseline or introduce the new Ferrari upgrade prepared for Zandvoort before qualifying.
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