Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest from Lando Norris in the only practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix as Formula 1 returned from its summer break.
Antonelli, who is 50 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship, continued where he left off by showing great pace throughout practice to better Norris by 0.121s and asserted himself as favourite for Sprint Qualifying later on Friday at 3.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1.
McLaren have brought upgrades to the rear of the car to complete the package that helped Norris to victory last time out in Hungary and are set to contend at the front again with Mercedes and Ferrari.
Although Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were fourth and fifth, Ferrari’s new floor at Zandvoort appeared to be working well with both drivers within three tenths of Antonelli. The pair set their best lap times earlier than the Mercedes and McLarens, so, in theory, had a slower track.
George Russell was third and only 0.125s adrift of Antonelli as he looks to get his championship challenge back on track after a disappointing run of form before the summer break.
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“It’s tricky conditions. The wind is playing a factor and will continue to play a factor here,” said Sky Sports F1‘s Karun Chandhok.
“But what was really interesting was that they were all within less than three tenths of a second at the top. That’s really exciting for us as it shows that whatever work has gone on through the summer break, we’ve kind of carried on where we left off in Budapest.
“And I don’t think we’ve seen the best of the Red Bulls in that session either yet.”
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Oscar Piastri was unable to match Norris and finished six tenths back while the newly re-signed Max Verstappen at Red Bull was only 11th.
Verstappen was visibly struggling with the balance of his car and faces the prospect of a challenging final home event as the Dutch Grand Prix does not have a contract beyond this year.
Liam Lawson has replaced Isack Hadjar this weekend at Red Bull after the Frenchman suffered a wrist injury last week and was 14th, while Yuki Tsunoda, who has replaced Lawson at Racing Bulls, was 17th.
Pierre Gasly is running a big upgrade package on his car and was eighth for Alpine, splitting Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg in seventh and Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth.
Aston Martin have engine and aerodynamic upgrades in Zandvoort, so Fernando Alonso finished 12th and 1.5 seconds off the pace – the closest they have been this season – and will hope to translate that pace into Sprint Qualifying later on.
Sky Sports F1’s live Dutch GP schedule
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Friday August 21
1.45pm: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
3pm: Dutch GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 3.30pm)
Saturday August 22
8.15am: F1 Academy Qualifying
10am: Dutch GP Sprint build-up
11am: DUTCH GP SPRINT*
1.30pm: F1 Academy Race 1
2.20pm: Dutch GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: DUTCH GP QUALIFYING*
5pm: Porsche Supercup Race 1
Sunday August 23
9.35am: F1 Academy Race 2
10.50am: Porsche Supercup Race 2
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Dutch GP build-up
2pm: THE DUTCH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Dutch GP reaction
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is at Zandvoort for a Sprint weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix with every session live on Sky Sports. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime