Formula 1

Dutch GP: Verstappen storms clear in rain-affected Practice 3

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Max Verstappen put his local knowledge to good use to finish fastest in a rain-affected Practice 3.

Heavy downpours before the session meant drivers got their first taste of Zandvoort in the wet since its return in 2021.

The Red Bull driver and Liam Lawson were the to head out on track, the latter making his Formula 1 debut replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri.

Turn 3 quickly established itself as one of the trickiest corners with Max narrowly avoiding the barriers after sliding wide.

A few minutes later, Kevin Magnussen spun his Haas at the same spot and couldn't avoid the Armco, triggering a red flag.

When the session resumed, Charles Leclerc briefly went fastest and then went off at Turn 1 but recovered back to the circuit.

Verstappen and Lando Norris then claimed the top two places as more drivers switched to intermediates despite more rain hitting the circuit.

The result was a spate of off-track excursions before Zhou Guanyu caused a second red flag by spinning into the gravel at Turn 13.

When the rain stopped, the lap times soon began to fall with the two McLarens going fastest as Norris led teammate Oscar Piastri.

Conditions were still difficult though, with several drivers taking to the escape road at Turn 1.

Lawson caused a brief red flag after spinning on the exit of Turn 13 but was able to recover back to the pits.

Entering the final minutes, Verstappen unleashed a flurry of fast laps, setting an eventual benchmark of 1m.21.631s.

That time could have been even faster too but for a mistake at Turn 11 on his final attempt.

George Russell was the only driver within a second of the Dutchman in P2 for Mercedes, with Sergio Perez exactly one second behind his teammate in third.

Fernando Alonso jumped up to finish fourth late on, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fifth.

Alex Albon continued his impressive weekend in sixth for Williams, while Piastri slipped to seventh as others improved.

Valtteri Bottas claimed P8, followed by Leclerc in ninth despite numerous lock-ups into Turn 1. Norris rounded out the top 10.

Pierre Gasly was the highest Alpine in P11, ahead of Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.

Yuki Tsunoda finished 13th, Logan Sargeant 14th and Nico Hulkenberg in 15th. Esteban Ocon was 16th, followed by Lance Stroll and Lawson in 18th.

Guanyu and Magnussen completed the timesheet after their spins.

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