Up Next
There was not an incredible amount to learn from first practice at Formula 1's 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, except to say the very tentative early signs indicate another close fight between the upgraded McLaren and the reconfigured Red Bull.
McLaren has revised its floor, brake ducts, suspension sheaths and brought a completely new rear wing in trying to chase greater efficiency on this high-downforce circuit.
Red Bull is again using the Hungarian GP-spec high-downforce package that so vexed Max Verstappen that weekend, but with some tweaks to the mirror and halo fairings, and the engine cover exit.
The first 30 minutes of the one-hour session around a blustery Zandvoort circuit were rendered largely meaningless by a wet and grip-less surface.
Not everyone even bothered to run some installation/exploratory laps on the full wet Pirelli tyres, but of those who did - and bothered to actually set a time - the order was as follows:
Wet tyre order
1 Leclerc 1m26.111s
2 Hulkenberg 1m26.242s
3 Russell 1m26.296s
4 Shwartzman 1m27.168s
5 Zhou 1m27.689s
Nico Hulkenberg suffered two trips through the gravel after multiple front brake lock-ups. Haas admits it has a braking problem specific to its 2024 car, but it’s not clear if that played a role in Hulkenberg’s various off-track moments or whether that was simply a function of difficult front tyre warm-up.
As the track improved, most of the field made proper runs on the intermediate tyre, on which the McLaren showed a small edge over the Mercedes - though the presence of Sauber FP1 driver Robert Shwartzman in the top three on that tyre indicates how quickly grip levels were improving as the circuit began to rapidly dry out.
Verstappen had a spin on this tyre, so did not have as smooth a run as Lando Norris enjoyed.
Intermediate order
1 Norris 1m20.392s
2 Russell 1m20.444s
3 Shwartzman 1m20.857s
4 Verstappen 1m21.300s
5 Sainz 1m21.320s
6 Ocon 1m21.344s
7 Ricciardo 1m21.665s
8 Tsunoda 1m21.970s
9 Gasly 1m22.036s
10 Hulkenberg 1m22.164s
11 Alonso 1m22.173s
12 Albon 1m22.822s
13 Magnussen 1m22.920s
14 Zhou 1m22.939s
15 Hamilton 1m24.638s
16 Stroll 1m24.638s
17 Sargeant 1m25.505s
The track improved significantly enough that everyone ran slick tyres for the final 10 minutes - everyone on soft (C3) Pirellis except for the medium-shod Ferraris.
All except Pierre Gasly’s Alpine managed to set a proper laptime in this last segment.
Dry tyre order (Ferraris on mediums)
1 Norris 1m12.322s
2 Verstappen 1m12.523s
3 Hamilton 1m13.006s
4 Sainz 1m13.074s
5 Russell 1m13.142s
6 Albon 1m13.159s
7 Piastri 1m13.230s
8 Hulkenberg 1m13.563s
9 Magnussen 1m13.597s
10 Zhou 1m13.965s
11 Stroll 1m14.151s
12 Perez 1m14.279s
13 Leclerc 1m14.306s
14 Tsunoda 1m14.418s
15 Alonso 1m14.467s
16 Shwartzman 1m14.658s
17 Sargeant 1m15.605s
18 Ocon 1m15.796s
19 Ricciardo 1m16.231s
But again, the times were tumbling rapidly as the track conditions improved.
That said, both Norris and Verstappen managed to squeeze their best laps in at the very end of this session, so the two-tenth gap between them is about as representative as it gets at this stage.
