Norris fastest as Stroll, Albon crash in chaotic Dutch GP practice

Lando Norris edged out Fernando Alonso to top the timesheets on a drama-filled opening day of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, which saw crashes for Lance Stroll and Alex Albon amid gusty conditions at Zandvoort.

Four weeks on from Formula 1’s last outing in Hungary, the sport’s return proved turbulent as strong winds made life difficult around the undulating North Sea circuit.

Norris’ benchmark of 1:09.890 in FP2 kept McLaren ahead, but Aston Martin underlined their recent resurgence with Alonso just 0.087s adrift and a further 0.002s clear of Oscar Piastri.

Incidents and Red Flags

The session was twice halted by red flags, first came a heavy crash for Stroll at the banked Turn Three, which caused significant damage to his Aston Martin.

Later, Albon beached his Williams at Turn One after nudging the barriers, ending his day with a broken front wing.

There was also drama in the pit lane, as Piastri narrowly avoided a collision with George Russell.

A late signal to adjust his McLaren’s pit entry forced the Australian back across the lane just as Russell approached, with the Mercedes driver forced into evasive action, the stewards are reviewing the incident.

The chasing pack

Behind the leading trio, Russell finished fourth, three tenths back, ahead of home favourite Max Verstappen, who continued to struggle in his Red Bull and ended half a second off the pace.

Ferrari endured another difficult Friday, both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz lapping more than 0.8s off the front.

Lewis Hamilton, despite spinning in both sessions, salvaged sixth – the Scuderia’s closest challenger – with Yuki Tsunoda in seventh between Hamilton and Leclerc.

Alpine’s Franco Colapinto impressed with ninth, just hours after team adviser Flavio Briatore publicly criticised his performances.

Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10 for Sauber, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli was 12th after recovering from an FP1 off, while Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar suffered a suspected power-unit failure before setting a time.

Norris confident, Aston encouraged

Fresh from three wins in the last four races, Norris appeared satisfied with his strong start.

“Today was a good day,” he said. “The car felt good, we made improvements, but Aston were quicker than they’ve been recently. It’s closer than we’d like.”

Alonso, meanwhile, believes Aston Martin are rediscovering their competitiveness.

“I feel more optimistic than some other Fridays,” he said. “Hungary was strong, and we’re showing good pace again. Fighting McLaren might be out of reach, but Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull don’t seem far away. We want to be in that mix.”

Verstappen, who has not finished on the podium in four races, admitted his struggles continue.

“We tried a lot of things but the underlying problems remain,” he said. “This track doesn’t suit us. A top-five will be difficult.”