Norris Tops Friday Practice at 2025 Dutch GP

(Image credit: @McLarenF1)

McLaren’s Lando Norris dominated Friday Practice for 2025 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Netherlands.

Norris topped both sessions on a comfortable first day back from the summer break but Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso ultimately split him and Oscar Piastri in second come the end of FP2.

Both sessions however were littered with red flags whilst a short period of light rain left the track slippery at the start of FP2, although both sessions largely stayed dry.

 

FP1

Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was first on track and set 1m 15.670 as the benchmark time but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the first set of lap times with 1m 12.767 as everyone bar Yuki Tsunoda ran the medium tyres – whilst Tsunoda had opted for hard tyres in the opening stint.

Piastri briefly displaced Verstappen by 0.089 seconds but Alonso and Alex Albon went even quicker before Verstappen responded with 1m 12.101 in the 11th minute, just two minutes after Lewis Hamilton spun his Ferrari at Turn 2.

The red flag were out barely a minute later after Andrea Kimi Antonelli suffered understeer into Bocht 9 which sent his Mercedes directly into the gravel trap, whilst Tsunoda spun at Hans Ernst Bocht but was able to crawl back to the pits.

Once the session resumed, Verstappen found 0.115s to stay top with 1m 11.986 but Piastri displaced him with 1m 11.794 as the opening stints concluded.

With rain forecast for FP2, everyone opted to go early with their soft-tyre qualifying simulations which saw Norris ultimately top the session with 1m 10.278 set on the half-hour mark, whilst Piastri was 0.292s down in second ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alonso, whilst Albon and Verstappen completed the top six.

Post-session, Verstappen locked up at Tarzanbocht following his practice start and came to a halt in the gravel trap but avoided contact with the barriers.

Position Driver Team Time
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1m 10.278
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren + 0.292
3 Lance Stroll Aston Martin + 0.501
4 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin + 0.563
5 Alex Albon Williams + 0.893
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull + 0.940
7 George Russell Mercedes + 1.108
8 Carlos Sainz Williams + 1.180
9 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber + 1.231
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine + 1.335
11 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls + 1.475
12 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls + 1.494
13 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber + 1.597
14 Charles Leclerc Ferrari + 1.673
15 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari + 1.682
16 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull + 1.848
17 Esteban Ocon Haas + 1.866
18 Franco Colapinto Alpine + 1.998
19 Oliver Bearman Haas + 2.286
20 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes + 3.997

 

FP2

Lawson was first on track in damp conditions and set 1m 17.854 as the initial benchmark on hard tyres but Norris displaced him with 1m 12.615 on the medium tyre.

Sainz and Alonso shortly afterwards displaced Norris but the Brit responded with 1m 11.294 but Bearman put in a surprise 1m 11.130 on soft tyres to go quickest in the 11th minute, before the red flag came out a minute later after Stroll lost control on entry to Hugenholtzbocht and hit the barriers heavily.

After a 11-minute stoppage, the session resumed but nobody could beat Bearman’s lap time until Hulkenberg posted 1m 11.080 in the 33rd minute as the soft-tyre qualifying simulations commenced, with the rain having missed the circuit and instead hit the nearby sea.

Norris ultimately topped the session with 1m 08.890 ahead of Alonso and Piastri as 0.089s split the top three, before the red flags were deployed in the 39th minute after Albon got stuck in the gravel at Tarzanbocht after he locked up into the first corner.

Position Driver Team Time
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1m 09.890
2 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin + 0.087
3 Oscar Piastri McLaren + 0.089
4 George Russell Mercedes + 0.384
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull + 0.588
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari + 0.848
7 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull + 0.905
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari + 0.944
9 Franco Colapinto Alpine + 1.067
10 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber + 1.190
11 Oliver Bearman Haas + 1.223
12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes + 1.295
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber + 1.430
14 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls + 1.449
15 Esteban Ocon Alpine + 1.471
16 Carlos Sainz Williams + 1.792
17 Alex Albon Williams + 1.866
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin + 2.085
19 Pierre Gasly Alpine + 2.232
20 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls No Time

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  1. Piastri Snatches Pole for 2025 Dutch GP – Sport Grill

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