Lando Norris once again topped the timesheets with a strong 1:09.890 as FP2 finished at the Dutch GP.
After a chaotic FP1 session, the Formula 1 drivers were ready to bounce back for the second practice session of the day at the Dutch GP. The first practice session of the weekend ended with Lando Norris on top, followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri. Then, half a second behind the McLaren, Lance Stroll in a surprising third place, potentially indicating that Aston Martin have quite the pace this weekend.
Green lights ahead
As the green lights go out, the drivers are set to start the FP2 session around the demanding Zandvoort track. With the first practice session being in dry conditions, FP2 had drivers expecting a more windy and wet session later on.
The queue quickly formed at the end of the pit lane where the drivers lined up. Turn 1 already looked darker than the rest of the circuit. As the conditions remained dry but windy, for the moment, with rain expected 14 minutes in. All drivers, expect for Verstappen, Hadjar, and Tsunoda immediately headed out on track with 56 minutes left on the clock.
Lando Norris took the top spot early on with a 1.12.615 on medium tyres, but was quickly knocked down by Carlos Sainz on hard tyres even as he went deep.
Fernando Alonso had a brief moment with Antonelli – as the rookie seemed to be unaware the Spaniard was approaching quickly on a fast lap. Ten minutes into the session, the drivers exchanged the top three spot nearly every lap. Norris being the driver staying close to the top throughout the session.
Charles Leclerc came on the radio with complaints as he battled Yuki Tsunoda. Meanwhile, Alex Albon heads into the gravel as he moves out of the way for Leclerc speeding through the corner.
Big moment for Stroll and the red flag comes out
12 minutes into the session, the red flag comes out as Lance Stroll had a big moment in Turn 3. The very same corner where former F1 driver, Daniel Ricciardo, broke his hand in 2023. Stroll took a big hit as he speeds into the unforgiving corner with high pace. He crashed into the barrier and the Aston Martin looked quite destroyed. With the front wheel off, and the rear of the car wrecked. The Canadian reported that he is ok as the session becomes red flagged.
Luckily, Stroll appeared to be doing alright after the costly moment. As the Canadian already experienced struggles with his hands and wrists. As a result, he underwent surgery earlier this year. It is quite an unfortunate moment as holding the steering wheel into such a high speed crash could be immensely dangerous.
Session briefly resumed
With 36 minutes left on the clock, the FP2 session continued. At the current moment, Haas’ Ollie Bearman sits on top of the timings followed by Norris and fellow rookie, Gabriel Bortoleto.
Almost immediately after the session begun, the yellow flags come out. Isack Hadjar reported no power in his Racing Bulls and was told to stop the car on track. The virtual safety car was calling as the drivers slowed down. The marshals were quick to remove Hadjar’s car and the session resumed with 30 minutes to go.
Just as he goes purple in sector one, Lewis Hamilton spins out in Turn 9. The seven-time World Champion spun in a complete 360 for the second time today, after a similar moment in the first practice session today. Luckily, the Ferrari driver quickly took back control, effectively saving the car and preventing a bigger incident from happening. He safely continued the session after the spin.
Last runs of the day
Then came the last runs of the day, where most drivers opted for soft tyres. With Norris leading the pack, followed by Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen’s soft tyre run placed him in fifth, over half a second off the McLaren of Norris.
Simultaneously, Alex Albon made a similar error to Max Verstappen earlier today, putting himself in the gravel. The Williams driver was preparing for his first soft tyre run as he sped into Turn 1. Albon breaks late, then locks up, and is forced across the gravel where he then hits the barrier and breaks his front wing.
As Piastri turned in to box, he accidentally headed towards his teammate’s box and had to adjust back to the fast lane. Resulting George Russell, directly behind him, being forced to lock up to avoid a potentially nasty incident in the pit lane.
Fortunately, Albon’s car was quickly cleared away, and the field went back out to run their finals laps of the day with 14 minutes to go. Nearly every driver was doing a soft tyre run, with the exception of Sainz on hards and Gasly on mediums.
The FP2 session closed out with Norris once again topping the timing sheets. This time with a solid 1:09.890. The McLaren driver was followed by Fernando Alonso, showing promising pace only 0.087 behind in second, and McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri in third. Aston Martin have been showing quite the pace this weekend and perhaps it will be a turn around for the team. Of course, McLaren are still showing dominance as both drivers find themselves in the top three.
Session Classification
- Lando Norris
- Fernando Alonso
- Oscar Piastri
- George Russell
- Max Verstappen
- Lewis Hamilton
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Charles Leclerc
- Franco Colapinto
- Nico Hulkenberg
- Ollie Bearman
- Kimi Antonelli
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Liam Lawson
- Esteban Ocon
- Carlos Sainz
- Alex Albon
- Lance Stroll
- Pierre Gasly
- Isack Hadjar
