The summer break is over. Zandvoort is alive. And it didn’t take long for the Dutch dunes to bite back.
Norris sets the tone
Lando Norris picked up where he left off before the break, going fastest with a 1:10.278. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri followed in second, 0.292s down, with Lance Stroll slotting into third after finding space in traffic.
Fernando Alonso made it both Aston Martins inside the top four, while Alex Albon kept Williams in the fight with fifth place. Max Verstappen had briefly topped the times, but was shuffled back to sixth before his late off.
Session full of mistakes
The first half hour was messy. Lewis Hamilton spun his Ferrari at Turn 3 in a full 360. “I’ve got flat spots all round,” he reported. Moments later Yuki Tsunoda slid off, before rookie Kimi Antonelli found himself beached in the gravel at Turn 9 – red flags out after just six laps for the Mercedes man.
Once running resumed, the drama continued. Russell skimmed through the gravel at Turn 12 but kept going. Even Norris dipped a wheel at Turn 11. And after the chequered flag, Verstappen locked up at Turn 1 and buried his Red Bull in the stones, to the silence of the orange grandstands.
Midfield battles
Behind the top six, Russell recovered to take seventh, just ahead of Carlos Sainz in eighth. Rookie Gabriel Bortoleto impressed for Kick Sauber in ninth, while Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten for Alpine.
Liam Lawson led the Racing Bulls charge in 11th, Isack Hadjar close behind in 12th. Nico Hülkenberg put the second Sauber 13th. Ferrari’s other car? Leclerc only 14th, Hamilton 15th, both well adrift and already using softs.
Tsunoda ended up 16th after his two offs. Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto filled 17th and 18th for Haas and Alpine, with rookie Oliver Bearman 19th in the other Haas. Antonelli, stranded early, was 20th with just six laps to his name.
Full FP1 classification
- Lando Norris – 1:10.278
- Oscar Piastri +0.292s
- Lance Stroll +0.501s
- Fernando Alonso +0.563s
- Alexander Albon +0.893s
- Max Verstappen +0.940s
- George Russell +1.108s
- Carlos Sainz +1.180s
- Gabriel Bortoleto +1.231s
- Pierre Gasly +1.335s
- Liam Lawson +1.475s
- Isack Hadjar +1.494s
- Nico Hülkenberg +1.597s
- Charles Leclerc +1.673s
- Lewis Hamilton +1.682s
- Yuki Tsunoda +1.848s
- Esteban Ocon +1.866s
- Franco Colapinto +1.998s
- Oliver Bearman +2.286s
- Kimi Antonelli +3.997s
What next
McLaren sit one-two, Aston Martin close, Williams lively, Ferrari off the pace, and Verstappen ending his home opener in the gravel.
With rain expected for FP2, this could prove the only dry hour of running before qualifying. For Antonelli, that means his weekend is already compromised. For the rest, it sets up a fascinating battle as Round 15 kicks into gear.