Norris leads McLaren 1-2 in damp final practice ahead of Dutch GP - Motorsport

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Full results and report as Lando Norris leads McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell in final practice ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix

A slow start

With tricky damp conditions on the Zandvoort circuit, there was no rush from the pitlane to get on track. First to brave the damp conditions was VCARB’s Isaak Hadjar albeit returning to the pitlane at the end of his outlap.

Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was next out and first to explore the track on slick tyres. His first hot lap set the pace of 1:13.740. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was next to set a representative lap time, pipping the Mercedes with a 1:13.485.

With 15 minutes gone from the session, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari remained in the garage following an exploratory lap. The seven time champions’ SF-25 was under intense scrutiny as the Ferrari mechanics removed the bodywork.

A quarter of the way through the session only five drivers had set a lap time, with Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto leading with a 1:12.014. Lance Stroll was next in line, topping the sparse timesheets with a 1:11.854 on softs for Aston Martin.

Twenty minutes in and there was a rush out on track. Anotonelli first improved to 1:11.187. Fernando Alonso then bested the young Italian with a 1:11.082, albeit on soft tyres compared to Antonelli’s mediums.

Heating up and drying off

First of the top teams to set a representative lap was McLaren’s Lando Norris, immediately continuing yesterday’s pace with a 1:10.262. Fastest overall thus far by just over 8 tenths of a second. Home hero Max Verstappen was next to challenge the top spot. The Dutchman managed only a 1:11.022 as he crossed the line however.

Oscar Piastri was next over the line, slotting into P2 0.071s behind his teammate. Both Ferrari’s sat just outside the top ten with Leclerc leading Hamilton in P11 & P12. Improvements soon saw the red cars improve to P8 and P7 respectively however, although the SF-25 looked a handful on board.

Just shy of the halfway point all 20 drivers had set a time on the rapidly drying circuit. With times flying in on the busy track, McLaren were setting the pace while Nico Hulkenberg occupied the bottom spot.

A second bite at the cherry for Piastri saw him better his McLaren teammate with a 1:10.120, 0.142s clear. The rapidly improving track saw Lewis Hamilton improve to P3 in his Ferrari, 0.446s shy of Piastri.

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, Lando Norris made a statement heading into qualifying with a 1:08.972. Max Verstappen then responded on his first soft tyre lap. The home hero eventually crossed the line 0.953s off Norris. Oscar Piastri also couldn’t respond to his teammate, finishing his lap 0.242s shy.

A scary moment for Alonso in the final ten minutes as he tripped over George Russell. Moving to the right hand side of the track Alonso was nearly forced into the wall at pit entry as Russell moved towards the pitlane.