McLaren set the pace in the opening practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix as Lando Norris led a one-two for the championship leaders.

Almost every driver took advantage of the opportunity to test the soft tyres in the opening session as the weather forecast indicates today’s second session will be affected by rain.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was unable to do so, however, as he skidded off the track early in the session and was unable to take any further part in proceedings. The Mercedes driver understeered wide in the slow turn nine right-hander and came to a rest in a deep gravel bed. That triggered the only red flag interruption of the session, just over 10 minutes after it began.

The track was very dusty at the start of the session. Antonelli wasn’t the only driver to be caught out by the lack of grip but the others were able to continue after their dramas.

Lewis Hamilton performed a spectacular 360-degree spin approaching the steeply banked Hugenholzbocht. He kept his Ferrari out of the barriers, however. Yuki Tsunoda also survived a spin at the Hans Ernst Bocht. Late in the session George Russell went off in the sole remaining Mercedes at Tarzan but was able to continue.

Norris looked immediately comfortable on his return to the track where he scored his second career victory last year. He was the first driver to switch from the medium tyres to softs and immediately lowered the benchmark by a second and a half with a lap of 1’10.278.

His team mate Oscar Piastri couldn’t get within four tenths of a second of that with his first effort. On his next he cut Norris’ margin to just under three tenths.

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None of McLaren’s regular rivals could get close to their times. Aston Martin were next best, led by Lance Stroll, who waited until late in the session to set a competitive time. Team mate Fernando Alonso was immediately behind him.

Alexander Albon was fifth fastest, narrowly ahead of Max Verstappen, who was one of the later drivers to switch to the softs. The Red Bull driver’s session came to a bizarre end as he skidded off at Tarzan moments after performing a practice start. “I’m stuck,” the world champion told his team before climbing out.

Gabriel Bortoleto was the fastest Ferrari-powered driver with ninth place in his Sauber. The works cars could only manage 14th and 15th for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton respectively.

2025 Dutch Grand Prix Grand Prix first practice result

P. # Driver Team Model Time Gap Laps
1 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL39 1’10.278 35
2 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL39 1’10.570 0.292 32
3 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR25 1’10.779 0.501 25
4 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR25 1’10.841 0.563 25
5 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW47 1’11.171 0.893 33
6 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB21 1’11.218 0.940 24
7 63 George Russell Mercedes W16 1’11.386 1.108 29
8 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes FW47 1’11.458 1.180 33
9 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber-Ferrari C45 1’11.509 1.231 30
10 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A525 1’11.613 1.335 30
11 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 02 1’11.753 1.475 29
12 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 02 1’11.772 1.494 30
13 27 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari C45 1’11.875 1.597 30
14 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-25 1’11.951 1.673 32
15 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-25 1’11.960 1.682 28
16 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB21 1’12.126 1.848 24
17 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari VF-25 1’12.144 1.866 29
18 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Renault A525 1’12.276 1.998 27
19 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari VF-25 1’12.564 2.286 30
20 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W16 1’14.275 3.997 6

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