What the teams said – Friday in the Netherlands

McLaren

Norris topped the opening session from his team mate, despite having one hairy moment where he dipped a wheel in the gravel. He picked up where he left off in FP2 as well, looking quick from word go and topping the session. But this time his team mate was closer – even if the timing sheets showed the Australian in P3. Both Piastri and Alonso in the Aston Martin finished within a tenth of a second of Norris, setting up a close intra-team fight at McLaren, while the papaya team know they have to watch their backs here with Aston Martin looking strong.

Oscar Piastri - FP1: 1:10.570, P2; FP2: 1:09.979, P3

"A solid first day back. It was nice to be back in the car, and everything went pretty well. A bit of weather around that spiced things up a little, but I think we made some improvements throughout the day, and we found a bit more pace. I think we’re in a good place going into tomorrow."

Lando Norris - FP1: 1:10.278, P1; FP2: 1:09.890, P1

"It was good to be back in the car. It’s definitely a track where you come in and feel what an F1 car can do straight away. We had some trickier conditions, but it's been a good start to the weekend. The competition is close – closer than we would like, so we’ll see what we can do overnight to try and find some performance."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

"It’s good to see cars back on track in Zandvoort following the summer break. Overall, today has been a fairly productive day with lots of data collected despite the multiple delays in both sessions.

"A number of teams look competitive this weekend, so we will make sure we work hard overnight as a team to optimise the car in preparation for tomorrow’s Qualifying, to give both drivers the best chance of challenging for Pole position."

Aston Martin

Aston Martin picked up where they left off in Hungary, looking quick from the off in Zandvoort. They didn’t just finish top of the midfield, but as McLaren’s closest challengers in FP1, with Stroll just ahead of Alonso after setting his time later in the session. Alonso continued that fine form in the second session, getting to within a very impressive one tenth of a second of Norris. But Stroll crashed heavily into Turn 3, locking up and hitting the barriers. The good news is he is okay – the bad news is his car needs a hefty rebuild ahead of tomorrow.

Fernando Alonso - FP1: 1:10.841, P4; FP2: 1:09.977, P2

"We showed some decent pace today in both sessions. Hopefully we can carry this form on and potentially battle some of the top teams this weekend.

"The weather looks mixed for the rest of the weekend, so let's see what we can do tomorrow."

Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:10.779, P3; FP2: 1:11.975, P18

"It's great to be back in Zandvoort, it's one of my favourite tracks in F1 and I'm looking forward to this weekend.

"Both cars looked fairly competitive today, although it's still early to say where we stand compared to the rest.

"Unfortunately, I had a lock-up in Turn Three during Free Practice Two and couldn't finish the session. So there's plenty of work for us to do overnight and we'll see what we can do tomorrow."

Mercedes

Antonelli missed plenty of running in the first session after locking up, running through the gravel and beaching his car. It was unfortunate for the youngster and set him back given he only managed to complete six laps – and none on the softs. Conditions were tricky, as shown by Russell also having a moment and winding up in the gravel, although he managed to keep enough momentum to make it to the escape road. Roll on FP2, and Antonelli completed the whole session on the softs to make up for that time lost, but he had one heart in mouth moment when he dipped a wheel in the gravel. Russell had an even closer call, nearly colliding with Piastri in the pit lane – something the stewards had a look at after the session.

George Russell - FP1: 1:11.386, P7; FP2: 1:10.274, P4

"It’s good to be back racing after a few weeks off. It was a positive day for us, and I felt good out there on track. The conditions were tricky for everyone, with a lot of wind strength and gusts, and we saw several drivers caught out by that. Here in Zandvoort, there a lot of corners that are exposed to the wind, and that makes it challenging for us as drivers. That will likely continue over the rest of the weekend.

"We were not quite as close to the front of the field as we would have liked today in terms of our single lap pace. We will look to improve that overnight but encouragingly, our race pace on the long run looked good. If that carries into the weekend, then that bodes well for us. That said, I am sure we will see the field close up tomorrow."

Kimi Antonelli - FP1: 1:14.275, P20; FP2: 1:11.185, P12

"I was obviously disappointed to start the weekend with my running cut short in FP1. I was pushing hard to generate tyre temperature but locked up and got beached at Turn 9. That ended my session prematurely and was not ideal as it costed me a good amount of track time and learning.

"Thankfully, FP2 was a better session. We focused on single lap work on the Soft tyre and I was able to build my knowledge and confidence. It was a decent hour overall but there were still a few mistakes which I need to iron out. We will work hard overnight to make improvements. We know what we need to look at and I know what I need to focus on. We will work diligently and thoroughly, and come back ready for FP3 and Qualifying tomorrow."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"All teams had to work around an ever-changing weather forecast today and that seemed to cause a bit more variety in programmes that we would normally expect on Friday. As a result, it's a bit more difficult than normal to work out where we stand. George didn't have a great time on low fuel in the first session but by the afternoon he was in a much better place, although it's no surprise that McLaren remain the benchmark.

"The long runs by George have looked pretty good across the day. We will need a bit more pace if we want to fight for the top step but it's a solid start. Kimi had a less straightforward time. He locked into Turn 9 on his first run and got beached in the gravel, thus ending his first session. In the second session he was catching up on lost track time but with several red flags and a virtual safety car, he didn't get a clean run at the new soft tyres. With such a short lap, we can expect Qualifying to be tight tomorrow which inevitably makes life difficult but at this stage, there's no reason to think that we can't get into a position to be fighting for a podium spot come Sunday."

Red Bull

There was a slew of incidents for the Red Bull drivers in FP1, Tsunoda going off through the gravel on his hard tyres before doing the same again after the chequered flag had fallen whilst running softs. But Verstappen’s session ended in the gravel as he locked up into Turn 1 after completing his practice start, the Dutchman beaching his back wheels and having to climb out the car. He fared better in FP2, looking more comfortable and finishing solidly in the top 10. Tsunoda – who is running the same spec car as his team mate – pushed him close, which bodes well for Red Bull getting two cars in Q3 comes Qualifying tomorrow.

Max Verstappen - FP1: 1:11.218, P6; FP2: 1:10.478, P5

“Today wasn't great and we were still struggling with the same things that we have had issues with before. We tried a lot of things with the car but it didn’t seem to change anything with the problems that we had. We will look overnight to see if we can find a bit more, but I am not going to expect a massive turnaround. The layout of the track doesn’t suit the problems that we have with the car and it has been quite tricky today, especially in the middle sector there are a lot of long corners. It will be difficult to be fighting at the top but we will see tomorrow."

Yuki Tsunoda - FP1: 1:11.126, P16; FP2: 1:10.795, P7

"I thought that FP1 started pretty well, we dropped off a little to the end but that happens when you're trying to extract maximum performance. It's not ideal, but at least I know the limit. We made a couple of changes into FP2 and it went well. The long runs were far off and it felt stretched, but the shorts runs were good which was actually the opposite of FP1. We just need to find a balance in the middle of the two and that's something to work out ahead of tomorrow. It's good to have a smooth session after the summer break and it serves as a confidence builder going into the weekend which is so important."

Pierre Wache, Technical Director

“We had a few issues in FP1 and after that you can pick up some damage on the car and it can influence performance a little, but we have escaped any issues so far. It is quite tricky here, it is very windy conditions and you have the risk of rain throughout the whole weekend. The risk is mainly for FP3, with less risk for Quali and the race, because of that we elected to go for a dry condition set-up for both cars in FP2. We evaluated things from FP1 but the wind makes it difficult here to fully assess performance in the car. Where we are amongst the other teams is hard to say so far but we are in the mix."

Ferrari

Leclerc was heard complaining on the radio that the car was “miles off” as he finished down the order in FP1, only fractions ahead of his team mate. Neither driver looked quick in the opening session, with Hamilton spinning in Turn 3 and flat-spotting his tyres for good measure, meaning he had to complete the rest of his programme on a set of softs. Hamilton spun again in FP2, but managed to keep out of the barriers. His tyres were not too badly affected this time, and he was able to finish in the top 10 – as did Leclerc, as Ferrari started to make some progress in Zandvoort.

Charles Leclerc - FP1: 1:11.951, P14; FP2: 1:10.834, P8

"It was a difficult Friday, with FP2 going slightly better than first practice, however, we are far off from where we want to be. We have to do everything to turn the situation around tomorrow. I think it’s going to be tough to battle McLaren and Aston Martin who were very strong today. Our main losses are coming from two corners, so we will work on finding a solution for this."

Lewis Hamilton - FP1: 1:11.960, P15; FP2: 1:10.738, P6

"It feels good to be back on track. We made encouraging progress between the sessions after not being in the ideal window in FP1. There is still work to do to improve the car balance over a single lap, but the long-run performance looked more consistent. As always, qualifying will be decisive here, so the priority is to carry today’s learnings into FP3 and continue to build overnight."

Williams

Williams looked quick in FP1, with both drivers finishing in the top 10. Sainz had one minor moment but apart from that, it was a good opening session for the Grove-based outfit. FP2 did not quite go to plan, with Albon locking up into Turn 1 on his quick run. He ran straight on through the gravel trap, damaged his front wing on the barriers and then got beached for good measure. That brought out the red flags and ended his session. Sainz did not fare much better, the promising pace from the earlier hour of practice evaporating as the conditions started to cool.

Alex Albon - FP1: 1:11.171, P5; FP2: 1:11.756, P17

"It’s easy to get caught around here with the gusts of wind but fortunately, it seems to only be the front wing that was damaged, so the car is looking okay. We hit the ground running in FP1 and we then made some changes going into FP2, but we didn’t get enough laps in to test if they worked or not. Looking at tomorrow, I wouldn’t mind rain, but I don’t think we have a bad car either, so we’ll focus on what we can improve overnight and set our sights on Q3 tomorrow."

Carlos Sainz - FP1: 1:11.458, P8; FP2: 1:11.682, P16

"It was a bit of a broken FP2 today, as every time I tried to finish a push lap, we had a Yellow or Red Flag on track. The pace was promising, and we made a good step between sessions, so I’m pleased with today. For tomorrow, somewhere in the top ten feels possible, so we’ll need to make sure we stay on it and focused throughout the entire weekend."

Racing Bulls

It was a quiet first practice session for Racing Bulls, with both drivers managing a good haul of laps. Which was just as well, as Hadjar’s afternoon quickly unravelled. He was late out of the pits in FP2 thanks to an issue, which soon reared its head when he was told to stop out on track and jump clear of the car. That ended his day without the Frenchman setting a time in FP2. Lawson at least had a clean session, but he couldn’t quite get close to the top 10.

Isack Hadjar - FP1: 1:11.772, P12; FP2: No time set, P20

“We had some sensor issues with the PU in FP1, so we decided to change both the battery and the PU before heading out again in FP2. I went out a little delayed, but while I was out on track the team were not happy with how the battery was performing, so they asked me to stop the car. Hopefully, everything will be resolved by tomorrow. I wish I could have had more running today, but with FP3, I should get enough practice to be ready for qualifying.”

Liam Lawson - FP1: 1:11.753, P11; FP2: 1:11.339, P14

"It's been a tricky day as Zandvoort is a very hard track, which probably showed. That being said, I'm feeling comfortable and the car is in a good place, but we'll of course find out fully tomorrow. We tried to make the most of the track time today and will see how the weather turns out tomorrow as it's pretty unpredictable here. As a team we'll keep working overnight to bring everything together because, as always, it's super close, so every small detail counts."

Mattia Spini, Chief Race Engineer

“Zandvoort always presents a unique challenge with its high-speed corners, steep banking, and the ever-present wind that often carries sand onto the track. Our drivers did not fully maximize their soft tyre runs in the first session, but we identified the key areas to focus on ahead of FP2. As a precaution, we changed the power unit on Isack’s car in between sessions, but once we were back on track, we asked him to stop on his out lap following unusual sensor readings. As always, the team will work hard tonight and tomorrow to fine-tune the car setup and maximize track running for both drivers. With overtaking opportunities limited at Zandvoort, our starting position will be crucial, and we are focused on giving our drivers the best chance to qualify strong."

Alpine

Gasly squeezed into the top 10 in FP1, but Colapinto couldn’t follow him – winding up a little further down the order. But the positions were reversed in the second session, Colapinto giving a good account of himself with P9. Gasly was much further back, the Frenchman seeming to struggle for rhythm as he came home down the back of the field – leaving the team’s true place in the pecking order a bit of a mystery heading into tomorrow.

Pierre Gasly - FP1: 1:11.613, P10; FP2: 1:12.122, P19

“It is great to be back in the car here in Zandvoort. Today was very much stop-start with some interruptions and red flags out there across both sessions. Still, we were able to have a decent feeling for how the car was behaving. On our Soft tyre run in Free Practice 2, I was happy with what we learnt even if we had traffic and the lap time was ultimately unrepresentative. We have a few things to fine tune on balance as usual but we have a good baseline to work with. Some cars are out of our league, we can't be too sure where we stand currently, but our focus is just on getting the car into a good place and extracting the most from it. We will see what that looks like tomorrow when it all counts.”

Franco Colapinto - FP1: 1:12.276, P18; FP2: 1:10.957, P9

“It was a decent day, where we've made good steps with the car. It felt good over one lap and, on high fuel, it was fairly consistent. We keep trying new things, which is bringing some improvements, so I think we can be happy with our Practice day here in Zandvoort. We had some compromised laps with traffic and also with some stoppages with red flags across both sessions. We will keep building it up and aim to go into Qualifying tomorrow with a decent car balance. We do need to work on finding some consistency on low fuel on the Soft compound and understand how to make the car feel more predictable. The usual work will happen tonight and I think we can have a good day tomorrow in Qualifying.”

Kick Sauber

Hulkenberg was one of the first to bolt on the soft tyres in FP1, thus did not set his time when the track was fully ramped up. But he looked more competitive in the second session, scraping into the top 10 as Kick Sauber look to continue their points-scoring run. As for Bortoleto, he was there or thereabouts but livened up proceedings with his radio messages, the Brazilian clearly still in the holiday mood as he laughed and joked with his team.

Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:11.875, P13; FP2: 1:11.080, P10

“It was a fairly typical Friday for us - nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, we’re reasonably satisfied with how things went today. Conditions were a bit tricky at times, especially with the looming threat of rain, so staying clean and in control was important, and we did that throughout both sessions. The field is incredibly tight once again, so every detail counts. Now it’s about fine-tuning and digging into the data to find those last gains before tomorrow.”

Gabriel Bortoleto - FP1: 1:11.509, P9; FP2: 1:11.320, P13

“It’s been a positive, straightforward day. Getting back in the car after the summer break, the feeling was good straight away, and I was happy with the balance throughout my laps. We made some encouraging steps in between the two sessions, and tomorrow is about refining a bit more, getting into the best shape for qualifying, and making sure we do the best job we can.”

Haas

Ocon and Bearman managed plenty of laps in the opening hour but did not come close to troubling the top 10. Both drivers improved in the second session though, Bearman even winding up in his usual spot of P11. With the midfield getting ever closer, it might take something special from the Haas boys to make Q3 tomorrow, with one-lap pace often their Achilles’ heel. But it is an area they have worked on and improved of late, so anything is possible – especially if it rains.

Esteban Ocon – FP1: 1:12.144, P17; FP2: 1:11.361, P15

“Today was a pretty decent day, especially with the step we made in FP2. For me, it was a very disrupted session, and we did our lap on quite used tyres so it wasn’t the perfect session, but I think in terms of car performance, we made a good improvement, and we should be happy with that. The rain was supposed to come today which it didn’t, so that was a bit of a surprise, but I think it’s a bit more consistent for the next days, so the focus is on the dry.”

Oliver Bearman - FP1: 1:12.564, P19; FP2: 1:11.113, P11

“This morning was a bit tough for us all coming back after a long break. It’s not the easiest track to come back to, being old school and unforgiving. My goal was just to have a clean session, find out what the car was missing in terms of balance, and we made a change in downforce level for FP2. That seemed to look good and in the right direction because the confidence I had in the car was much higher in FP2. We went early onto the softs as we expected a lot of rain, and in the end, it didn’t come, so I set my fastest lap pretty early relative to others, but I think we stand in a good place."

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“It was quite a disrupted day with VSCs and red flags. We improved the car between FP1 and FP2, and both drivers were a lot more comfortable and had confidence – so that’s a good place to start. I think we need to find a bit more, and on the operational side of things we need to tidy things up, do our homework, and focus on having a clean FP3 and qualifying tomorrow.”

Pirelli

Simone Berra, Pirelli Chief Engineer

“Quite an interesting day, with plenty of action as the teams strived to make the most of the time available, compromised by several interruptions across the two hours of free practice. The most significant indication from today is that all three compounds seem capable of playing their part in the race. The Hard proved to be the most durable with the least level of abrasion but, with temperatures like those we saw today this could be slightly penalising in terms of warm-up and performance. The Medium offers the best balance between performance and degradation, but the Soft also seemed competitive over a long run on some cars. The C4 saw drivers make a bigger step in terms of performance compared to the C3 than we had expected, without as mentioned earlier, suffering too much over longer runs.

“The track got significantly quicker during the two sessions as the racing line gradually got cleaner, removing the sand blown in on the wind. Less significant was the improvement from one session to the next, as only one support series was on track in between them. In terms of tyre use, it’s interesting to see how the teams were split almost equally between those choosing to have two Mediums and one Hard per driver for the rest of the weekend and those who favoured the C3 at the expense of the C4. It means the third free practice session should be particularly interesting. In terms of strategy, possibly even more so than previously thought, the choice between one and two stops is wide open, especially now that the Soft is a viable option.”