Home hero Max Verstappen went fastest in the opening practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix.
With the Orange Army out in force, the reigning world champion was the only man in the 1m11s, posting a 1m11.852s on soft tyres following a red flag caused by Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas.
Though a small off through the gravel at the Turn 11 & 12 chicane meant it wasn’t a faultless session, Verstappen also completed the most laps of anyone with 31 tours around the dunes of Zandvoort.
Fernando Alonso also set his best time following Hulkenberg’s off at Turn 13, moving up to second, less than three-tenths behind the leading Red Bull.
Lewis Hamilton made it three world champions in the top three in his Mercedes, a further tenth behind his former McLaren teammate.
Sergio Perez was fourth after being one of the first drivers to switch to softs along with the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant in fifth and seventh.
McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sat sixth and eighth, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon completing the top 10 for Alpine.
George Russell was unable to get a clean lap on fresh tyres in 11th. Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo sat 12th and 13th followed by Kevin Magnussen in 14th.
Valtteri Bottas claimed 15th, Charles Leclerc only ran medium tyres in 16th ahead of Zhou Guanyu in the second Alfa Romeo.
RED FLAG
Nico Hulkenberg spins off at the penultimate corner and makes very gentle contact with the wall
He hops out of the car and won’t take any further part in the session#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/OTut5rQDly
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 25, 2023
Hulkenberg was 18th after his spin into the gravel at Turn 13, Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzmann finished 19th and Lance Stroll only managed two laps before pitting with power unit issues.
Check out the top 10 from Practice 1 below:
#F1 returns from the summer break, but there’s no change at the top! #Formula1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/0ouNU3qx7y
— InsideRacing.com (@INSIDERACINGcom) August 25, 2023
