FP1 at the 2026 F1 Dutch GP has been completed, view the full session report here.
Thanks to an injury for Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson was back at Red Bull, with Yuki Tsunoda jumping into the Racing Bulls. The futures of Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were also sorted as the summer break came to an end. Marcin Budkowski was appointed Cadillac F1 Team Principal also.
Following rain overnight, it was a bit damp as the only practice session of the weekend started, although they quickly switched to dry tyres.
Quickly switching to dry tyres in 2026 Dutch GP F1 FP1
Audi driver Nico Hülkenberg did a 1:26.555 on inters to kick things off. On mediums, a 1:23.311 from Oscar Piastri quickly saw the dries be superior.
A 1:16.112 from Kimi Antonelli saw the championship leader immediately jump to the front of the field. He then lowered it to a 1:15.351. Russell, Norris and Piastri followed that stage.
Down near the back, Carlos Sainz had a tough start as he took trips through the gravel in turns 11 and 12, as well as turn 13 earlier in the session. He then had a lock-up at the quick right-left, with the team confirming he had floor damage after his runs through the gravel.
With Lewis Hamilton doing a 1:15.124 to go top, George Russell was the first into the 1:14s as he did a 1:14.951.
Out front, Charles Leclerc did a 1:14.146 to be fastest at the halfway mark, followed by Hamilton and Antonelli. 0.123s covered the top 3.
Russsll, Verstappen, Norris, Bortoleto, Piastri, Lawson and Gasly completed the top 10. The Red Bulls, the Brazilian and the Alpine driver were on hards, with the others on mediums.
Two World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso also had moments at turn 11 on laps, with the Ferrari man having a small and slow run through the gravel.
A third World Champion joined the party as Max Verstappen had a snap of oversteer and was in the gravel at turn 13.
Softs appear for many
The first driver on the red sidewall tyre was Franco Colapinto and he vaulted up to 6th.
Defending race winner Oscar Piastri smashed in a 1:13.608 to go fastest by 0.538s. However, the Ferraris responded. A 1:13.139 from Lewis Hamilton put him P1, with his teammate 0.208s away. The Brit did his damage in the first sector.
Having won in Hungary, Lando Norris did a purple first sector and pipped Hamilton by 0.034s to go quickest. George Russell could only manage P4, 0.361s slower than his fellow Brit.
After getting blocked on his first lap, Kimi Antonelli moved himself to the top in the final couple of minutes as he did a 1:12.949. Norris and Russell improved at the end to be 0.121s and 0.125s away respectively. Hamilton and Leclerc rounded out the top 5 as a mere 0.289s covered them all.
