The teams and drivers gathered in the Netherlands to launch the second half of the 2025 season. McLaren aims to solidify their constructors’ championship lead as their drivers fiercely compete for additional Driver’s Championship points.
After a hard-earned summer break, three teams unveiled exciting upgrades at Zandvoort. Red Bull engineered a new front wing to support home hero Max Verstappen. This innovative design proved crucial, especially for the demanding challenges of the racetrack. Additionally, the extended cords actively enhanced the available load. Meanwhile, Alpine and Sauber rolled out updates to their rear wings.
The session started with Bortoleto of the Sauber team leading the field onto the track as the FIA tested out the VSC mechanisms. As the VSC ended, the leading McLarens arrived on track.
11 minutes into the session, the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton took a spin at turn 3. This incident resulted in damaged tyres.
Red Flag
Shortly after, a red flag was called as Antonelli found himself in the gravel at turn 9. During the chaos of the red flag, Tsunoda briefly visited the gravel, but was able to keep the car running.
The session resumed after 8 minutes with Verstappen taking the fastest time at 1:12.101, followed by Russell and Norris.
The track’s seaside location, combined with the overcast skies, resulted in strong winds, making it challenging for drivers to navigate around the gravel.
With 31 minutes to go, Norris set the fastest lap of the session at a whopping 1:10.278. He was soon joined by his teammate Piastri in second by a gap of 0.422s.
Race runs started on track with 9 minutes to go as Stroll took third place. 2 minutes to the end of the session, and Russell showed that the Mercedes was difficult and locked up, going off into the gravel at turn one.
Chequered Flag
At the chequered flag, Norris takes first place (1:10.278), with his teammate Piastri (0.292) in second, followed by Stroll (0.501) in third.
In a strange turn of events to end the session, Max Verstappen found himself stranded in the gravel due to locking up into turn one after a practice start.