Dutch Grand Prix: F1 Free Practice 3 Results

Formula 1 returns from summer break for round 15 of the championship and is joined in Zandvoort by F1 Academy

Hannah May 3 min read

Latest Episode | Cut To The Race Podcast

McLaren and Mercedes started the weekend strong, will a third team top Free Practice 3?

Zandvoort Free Practice 3
Netherlands’ Circuit Zandvoort sits by the beach overlooking the North Sea and hosts today’s Dutch Grand Prix Free Practice 3 session. (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

McLaren and Mercedes have exited the summer break on form, topping the first and second practice sessions. Kicking off the weekend with FP1, McLaren’s Lando Norris set the quickest time of the session. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in P2 and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in P3 joined him in the top three.

In FP2, Mercedes came out fighting. The session ended with George Russell at the top of the leaderboard. His Silver Arrows teammate finished in P3, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri splitting the two Mercedes drivers in P2.

Rain is forecast in Zandvoort for today’s Free Practice 3 session. The risk of rain is 60%. Will weather conditions make for an interesting session, or cause teams to lose out on precious data-gathering time?

Lights out for FP3

A soggy start to the session saw all the drivers opting for the wet tyre compound. The lights went green for Free Practice 3 but the drivers were slow to head out on track.

Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas was the first car on the circuit, kicking up spray from the wet weather tyres. He was joined on track by his Haas teammate, Kevin Magnussen and Sauber driver, Valtteri Bottas.

After his first lap, Hulkenberg returned to the pits, informing his team that the conditions were already suitable for intermediate tyres.

The next drivers out on the intermediates were Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, and Zhou Guanyu. The Australian McLaren driver set three purple sectors and the fastest lap time of the session so far with a 1:24.176.

The two Aston Martin drivers – Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll – headed out on track. Stroll set a purple Sector 1, which was then topped by Piastri. Piastri then improved his fastest lap time with a 1:21.850.

Yellow and Red Flags

Hulkenberg triggered a brief yellow flag, losing part of his front wing at Turn 12 and returning to the pits. The German driver was plagued with brake issues yesterday, causing him to crash in FP1. The issues repeated in this session, locking up his tyres and sending him into the barriers.

With the greasy surface, Magnussen, Russell, Piastri, and Alonso all went off the track into run-off zones, albeit less dramatically than Hulkenberg. They all managed to avoid the barriers and continued with their laps.

With 45 minutes remaining, a Sector 1 Yellow Flag quickly turned into a Red Flag due to Logan Sargeant’s Williams. His FW46 was on fire in the middle of the track.

Sargeant went onto the grass at the exit of Turn 3, losing the car and hitting the barrier at speed. Luckily, Sargeant extricated himself from the burning car, confirming on the radio to Williams that he was okay.

At this point in the session, Alonso topped the timesheet with a 1:21.461 lap time. Half of the drivers had been out on the circuit to set a time and the other half were yet to start their Free Practice 3 session.

Session restart

Free Practice 3 was due to restart with only five minutes left on the clock. The barriers required significant repairs, taking 40 minutes of practice time.

However, just as the restart time arrived, race control delayed it by a further three minutes. With only two minutes to go, every car was queueing at the pit lane exit ready to go out on track.

Verstappen was eager to exit the pits, overtaking two cars and crossing the pit exit line the second time. He was noted for failing to follow the Race Directors’ instructions.

Verstappen’s decision allowed him to reach the line in time to set a lap time. Meanwhile, his teammate, Sergio Perez and RB teammates Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda did not reach the line in time. However, at the end of the session, the drivers were able to complete their practice starts.

The session finished with Pierre Gasly topping the timesheet. The French Alpine driver set a lap time of 1:20.311. Magnussen in P2 and Bottas in P3 joined him in the top three. The teams will enter Qualifying later today with limited data.

FP3 classification

Featured Image Credit:В?@F1 on X

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This website is unofficial and is not associated in any way with the Formula 1 companies. F1, FORMULA ONE, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing B.V.

Zeen is a next generation WordPress theme. It’s powerful, beautifully designed and comes with everything you need to engage your visitors and increase conversions.

Zeen Subscribe
A customizable subscription slide-in box to promote your newsletter
[mc4wp_form id="314"]