The summer break has officially come to an end: this is confirmed by the first free practice session on Friday. Rain is the protagonist of FP1 of the Dutch GP, Slows in fact the exit of the single-seaters on the track and does not allow teams to test and evaluate new changes made to the cars.
Rain and wind: slow start
Un sparkling start to the weekend, the one in Zandvoort, which opened with the news and jack doohan will occupy the seat that Esteban Ocon will leave at the end of the season. The rain and the strong wind – expected for all sessions – mean that the action on the track is reduced as well as difficult. The first to do it tasting the gravel on his tires is Nico Hulkenberg which, due to the wet track, ended up off the track on two separate occasions.
Even the home hero is in difficulty, Max Verstappen, which goes well with intermediate tires in a spin causing a yellow flag – removed moments later when the Dutchman moves again. On the track for the first time aboard the Sauber it is there during the FP1 of the Dutch GP Robert Schwartzman. The former Formula 2 driver, currently involved in the WEC and as a Ferrari reserve driver, took the wheel of Valterri Bottas' single-seater. The Russian-Israeli pilot manages to get into the top 3 with 15 minutes to go, behind Norris and Russell, ahead of Verstappen.
Lando Norris leads the FP1 of the Dutch GP
Hulkenberg isn't the only one to visit the gravel, in difficulty in fact they also found each other Pierre Gasly and Checo Perez. Towards the end of the session, however, the rain stopped hitting the Zandvoort circuit, while a light sun makes its way through the clouds which slowly dries the track. Hamilton previously fitted a high-load wing due to weather conditions, which he later replaced when track conditions improved.
Ferrari runs on medium tyre, thus deciding to save a set of red tires. In the penultimate attempt Leclerc, despite the difference in tyres, managed to place himself in ninth position behind Max Verstappen, while Sainz finds itself in twelfth position. With one minute left on the clock the home pilot Red Bull decides to relaunch to try to grab the top of the rankings. Max succeeds in his intent, but the joy does not last long, as he also Lando Norris manages to improve marking a lower time than the Dutchman.
The top 10 of the first Dutch session
P1 Lando Norris 1:12.322
P2 Max Verstappen +0.201
P3 Lewis Hamilton +0.684
P4 Carlos Sainz +0.752
P5 George Russell +0.820
P6 Alexander Albon +0.837
P7 Oscar Piastri +0.908
P8 Nico Hulkenberg +1.241
P9 Kevin Magnussen +1.275
P10 Zhou Guanyu +1.643
