F1 Dutch GP: Verstappen leads red flag-filled, wet final practice

A rapid-fire final 10 minutes, produced by improving track conditions as the morning's heavy rain subsided, ended with Verstappen embarking on a series of quick runs having found much in the way of confidence on a drying track.

Lando Norris had assumed control over the session with around 20 minutes to go after trading places with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at the top, but Verstappen lodged a 1m22.758s to sit in first overall.

Russell then challenged but fell short by about 0.02s, and Verstappen subsequently cemented his advantage having set a 1m21.631s on his next timed lap.

A third attempt ultimately came to nought as Verstappen went into the gravel at Turn 11, but his second sector had not been an improvement in any case.

Incidents for Kevin Magnussen, Zhou Guanyu, and rookie Liam Lawson produced stoppages in the session as the drivers were forced to cope with treacherous conditions following the morning rain.

Magnussen produced the first red flag after a slide at Turn 3, having lost the rear early on in his out-lap on the intermediate tyres to dump his car into the exit wall.

After the hiatus in running to clear the stricken Haas, Charles Leclerc then vaulted to the top on the wet tyre having posted a 1m27.238s to displace Verstappen, but very nearly torpedoed into the wall at Turn 1 moments after crossing the line. The Monegasque just about kept the car out of the barrier, but had to take the long way around to return to the circuit.

The intermediate tyres then appeared to come into their own despite the continuing rainfall, as Norris beat Leclerc's time by half a second moments before Verstappen shattered the Briton's lap with 1.5s in hand.

Zhou then spun on the exit of Turn 13 and beached his Alfa Romeo into the gravel, causing the marshals to reach for the red flag once more.

There were few signs of improvement as the session restarted with 25 minutes to go, although Norris then reclaimed top spot with two personal best sectors, capturing a tow through the final corner from Logan Sargeant to set the best final sector.

Piastri then overturned his team-mate's efforts on his own effort, punching in a 1m24.893s, but Norris asserted his authority with a 1m23.677s with a clean sweep of sectors to go over a second ahead.

But Piastri responded with a lap just 0.097s away from his more experienced team-mate and moved into second, finding 0.6s over Sergio Perez.

Lawson, who was drafted into the AlphaTauri line-up in place of the injured Daniel Ricciardo, produced the third red flag when he spun on the way into the banked Turn 14. The Kiwi touched the outside kerb which pitched him into 180-degree rotation, but he managed to recover and retreat to the pitlane for a short-lived stoppage.

Verstappen then made his break for top spot after the final stoppage and successfully dispatched the McLarens as the orange cars did not take advantage of the final moments of drying track.

Russell thus ended the session in second, 0.379s off Verstappen's best, while Perez was third and a full second away from his team-mate's time.

Fernando Alonso claimed the fourth-fastest time over Lewis Hamilton, as Alex Albon beat Piastri to sixth. Valtteri Bottas, Leclerc, and Norris completed the top 10.

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

       

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	M. Verstappen Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	18	1'21.631		187.825
2	G. Russell George Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	18	+0.379	0.379	186.957
3	S. Perez Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	18	+1.000	0.621	185.552
4	F. Alonso Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	14	+1.003	0.003	185.545
5	L. Hamilton Lewis Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	18	+1.092	0.089	185.346
6	A. Albon Alex Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	19	+1.119	0.027	185.285
7	O. Piastri Oscar Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	20	+1.261	0.142	184.968
8	V. Bottas Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo F1 Team KICK	77		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	25	+1.334	0.073	184.805
9	C. Leclerc Charles Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	12	+1.462	0.128	184.520
10	L. Norris Lando Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	24	+1.527	0.065	184.376
11	P. Gasly Pierre Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	15	+1.579	0.052	184.261
12	C. Sainz Carlos Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	17	+1.807	0.228	183.757
13	Y. Tsunoda Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri	22		AlphaTauri	Red Bull	18	+1.913	0.106	183.524
14	L. Sargeant Logan Sargeant Williams	2		Williams	Mercedes	20	+1.939	0.026	183.467
15	N. Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	20	+2.009	0.070	183.314
16	E. Ocon Esteban Ocon Alpine	31		Alpine	Renault	12	+2.175	0.166	182.951
17	L. Stroll Lance Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	15	+2.427	0.252	182.402
18	L. Lawson Liam Lawson AlphaTauri	40		AlphaTauri		26	+4.712	2.285	177.575
19	Z. Guanyu Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo F1 Team KICK	24		Alfa Romeo	Ferrari	9	+6.851	2.139	173.282
20	K. Magnussen Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	1
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