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Formula 1 arrives in Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. It is the country’s fourth race since the event returned to the F1 calendar in 2021.
Summer break is over
The home favourite Max Verstappen will be looking to make it his fourth successive win around the Cirucit Zandvoort, but it may seem a difficult ask for the Dutchman, with him not winning a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.
The Belgian Grand Prix before the summer break saw Lewis Hamilton take the win, courtesy of his teammate’s disqualification. This makes it two wins for the British driver in 2024.
However, Red Bull will be looking to regain control over the title fight, with Verstappen holding a 78-point lead over Lando Norris’s McLaren in the Drivers’ Championship.
Meanwhile, Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship currently stands at 42 points, with the McLaren team in second.
The 4.259km long circuit is known for its steep embankments, including the 18-degree banked final corner. However, it isn’t the Dutch hero Verstappen who holds the record round the circuit but Hamilton, who holds the record with a 1m 11.097s.
All the teams had to take a mandatory two-week break from any developments to the car during the summer break. But we still might see car upgrades from developments before and after the break.
The conditions for Practice 1 are set to be wet. The local weather institute has issued a wind warning, with winds of up to 85km/hr from the North Sea.
Whilst conditions on a windy Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Jack Doohan was announced as the Esteban’s Ocon at Alpine for 2025; if Daniel Ricciardo keeps his place, it will be the first time since the 1976 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen that three Australians have competed in an F1 race.
IT'S OFFICIAL – @jackdoohan33 JOINS ALPINE FOR 2025!! #F1 #DutchGP https://t.co/EMWpmI8sYg
— FormulaNerds ?? (@Formula_Nerds) August 23, 2024
So, let’s see who went quickest in Free Practice 1 at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Free Practice 1: What happened?
Pierre Gasly’s Alpine was the first car out on a wet Circuit Zandvoort, shortly followed by Kevin Magnussen in the Haas, both cars on wet compound tyres.
Nico Hulkenberg was the first car off the track as the Haas locked up into Turn 9, which led the German into the gravel. However, he shortly rejoined the circuit.
Hulkenberg ventures out and skates off into the gravel trap ?
Gusting winds are causing as much trouble as the rain #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/2no5negcyB
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 23, 2024
Meanwhile, Gasly was asked by his engineer how the track was he described it as “wild”.
Gasly said: “Yep, it’s pretty wild with the wind.”
With 10 minutes gone in the session, no drivers had set a lap, with them doing single out laps before returning to the pits, due to the wet weather.
Charles Leclerc was the first driver to set a lap time, with the Monegasque setting a 1:26.530.
Hulkenberg ventured off into the gravel for the second time as he lost traction into the braking zone before rejoining the track.
However, the German Haas driver set the second lap time of the session, which was 1.509 seconds behind the Ferrari.
Russell was the first Mercedes to set a competitive lap time with a 1:26.296, but it wasn’t enough to jump Hulkenberg in second.
After 25 minutes passed in the session, both McLarens made it out on track, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris returning to the pits despite both setting purple sectors.
As the session approached its halfway point, the track began to dry out, with lap times improving as track evolution kicked in.
Verstappen was the first driver to switch over to the intermediate compound tyre.
Midway through
The top five stood as the session hit the halfway mark: Leclerc, Hulkenberg, Zhou, Gasly. But only the top four drivers had set a lap time.
Verstappen set two purple sectors, but as the home favourite, headed into the final sector, he spun the car. However, in the lap after, he set the quickest lap time by 4.811 seconds with 1:21.300.
Verstappen on his first push lap goes spinning around at Turn 11 ?
No damage done though, and he's on his way ?#F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/cXds4d5bhL
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 23, 2024
Russell quickly knocked Verstappen off the top spot with a 1:20.444.
Norris set the first lap time and the fastest for McLaren .052 seconds quicker than Russell with a 1:20.392.
Whilst a dry line began to form, both Gasly and Sergio Perez went off the track, as the wind picked up to 35 km/hr.
Final 10 minutes
As the session entered its final 10 minutes, the teams decided to send their cars out with slick tyres, as the track dried.
Norris was the first driver to set a lap on the soft compound tyres with a 1:17.367; Russell went 0.518 seconds behind the McLaren.
However, on Piastri’s second lap, he shot up the leaderboard with a 1:15.971 to go top. But Russell was back once again to haunt the McLarens to go back to the top with a 1:15.900.
Norris was the first driver to get into the 1.14s with a 1:14.519.
The times continued to improve as the track heated up and dried out.
The papaya of the McLaren seemed to be the quicker shade of orange rather than the Dutch local hero, with Norris setting the first time in the 1.12s with a 1:12.818, before improving with a 1:12.322.
Final classification
The McLaren of Lando Norris set the quickest time as Verstappen, Hamilton, Sainz, RussellВ? rounded out the top five. The top 10 was Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, Sainz, Russell, Albon, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Zhou
Full results can be found here.
Featured image: Courtesy of F1 on X