After a summer break, the Formula 1 fandom has been snapped back to attention with some of the most chaotic free practice sessions in recent memory.
That said, it was the McLarens who once again proved to be the only constant as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris jostled for position throughout. Norris comes to Zandvoort as the man in form, having won three of the last four grand prix. The British driver took a clean sweep of all three practice sessions with his best time over two tenths quicker than Piastri and seven tenths faster than his pole time last year.
It was spins galore in FP1 with Lewis Hamilton the most high-profile casualty. The seven-time world champion suffered a dramatic spin at turn two but escaped with little more than a flat-spotted tyre. A second spin in FP2 compounded the situation as Hamilton ended the final session in 14th.
Yuki Tsunoda spun at turn 11 before impeding Charles Leclerc in FP2 en route to 12th in the final session. His teammate, Max Verstappen, is a three-time winner at Zandvoort, but his pace in free practice casts doubt over a possible fourth home win. The reigning world champion struggled with balance throughout free practice and ended the final session in fourth, nearly a full second off the pace-setting McLarens. Verstappen also suffered an off after the flag fell in FP1 by locking up after a practice start and beaching his Red Bull in the gravel at turn one.
Back from a summer break he described as “very important”, Kimi Antonelli struggled in free practice. The Mercedes driver was left stranded in the gravel at turn eight and brought out the red flags, hampering his weekend’s progress. Antonelli could only manage 17th in FP3. George Russell’s free practice was also far from straightforward as he suffered a slide at turn 10 and found the gravel at turn 1 in FP1. Though unlike his teammate, he was able to take to the escape road and continue. Russell went on to have a hair-raising moment with Fernando Alonso in FP3, the Spaniard caught him by surprise as they both made for the pitlane entry. Russell was forced to dart out of the way and the incident was placed under investigation.
In contrast to his impressive pace in FP1 during which he secured the third fastest time one place ahead of his teammate, Lance Stroll crashed heavily in FP2. The Aston Martin driver locked up at turn three and brought out the red flag. Bad news for his mechanics who had to perform an overnight survival cell change on his AMR-25. His teammate went on to secure P2 in that session before finishing FP3 in tenth. Despite the team’s eye-catching pace, Alonso insists that expectations are to be kept in check ahead of qualifying and the race.
Despite shifting focus to 2026, Williams had a strong showing in free practice. Carlos Sainz ended FP3 in fourth while Alex Albon secured seventh. However, the route there was not without incident. Albon slid into the gravel at turn 11 in FP2, before damaging his front wing at turn one. Sainz also had an off at turn 11 in FP1, the former Ferrari driver having expressed regret at not making the most of Williams’ early-season pace.
Elsewhere, Isack Hadjar’s FP2 running was interrupted by a power unit issue, though he was able to recover to 9th in FP3 with a fastest time 0.134s faster than his teammate Liam Lawson.
In contrast to the chaos up front, Sauber and Haas had relatively quiet sessions. Oliver Bearman was obstructed by Stroll in FP1 but ended FP3 in 15th, the places up on Esteban Ocon. Sauber managed 13th and 16th in the final part of practice with Gabriel Bortoletoahead of Nico Hulkenberg, while Alpine brought up the rear.
McLaren, more specifically Norris, looks to have the edge. But given Zandvoort’s proven ability to spring a surprise, it remains to be seen who will take the spoils in the Netherlands.
