By W. G. S. D. Wijesinghe, Jadetimes news
McLaren's Lando Norris led the first practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix, edging out Red Bull's Max Verstappen in a session that began with wet and challenging conditions but concluded under clear skies.
Despite a blustery wind with gusts exceeding 70 km/h, the track, initially wet, dried out by the session's end. Norris topped the timesheets, clocking in 0.201 seconds ahead of Verstappen. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was third fastest, 0.684 seconds behind, though his quickest lap was compromised by traffic.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz secured fourth, running on medium compound tyres, while those ahead opted for softs. Mercedes' George Russell took fifth, followed by Williams' Alex Albon and McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
The tricky conditions caused several drivers to make errors, with spins and off track excursions being common Verstappen himself ran wide at the chicane towards the end of the lap but no crashes occurred.
Norris strong performance is a positive sign for McLaren, who have introduced their first major performance upgrade since the Miami Grand Prix in May. The team has tempered expectations, noting that the expected improvement in lap times from these upgrades is not as significant as the leap seen with the Miami package, which elevated McLaren to become Red Bull's closest competitors.
Red Bull has also brought an upgrade as they aim to reassert themselves as the dominant force in F1. The unsettled weather conditions are likely to persist throughout the day at the Zandvoort circuit, located in the sand dunes along the North Sea coast.
