FP1

The first practice must’ve been a bit of a shock for the drivers as they came back from their sunny vacations to rainy and windy Zandvoort. The first practice didn’t offer much as the drivers were challenged by heavy rain and strong wind for more than half of the session.

In the first half of FP1 a only few drivers came out of the pits to test the conditions but after a few laps came back in.

Max Verstappen left the garage half-way through the practice and was between one of the first drivers to put intermediate tires on and soon spun in Turn 11 but with no damage to the car. Many drivers also had their moments with few spins or trips to the gravel but they managed to avoid the barriers.

When the session got close to its end, drivers were able to put slick tires on which quickly changed the lap times in the leaderboard.

Lando Norris finished the practice in first, followed by Max Verstappen in second and Lewis Hamilton in third. Robert Schwartzman who replaced Valtteri Bottas in his car for only FP1, finished in P16.

FP2

The weather in the second practice was way better compared to the first one, however, this time all the drivers didn’t manage to avoid the barriers as Nico Hulkenberg with his Haas brought out the red flag after 17 minutes, after a crash in Turn 1.

When the session resumed again, all drivers, except already mentioned Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz, who had gearbox problems, managed to get some laps in their tires and collect some valuable data for the weekend.

A few drivers, including Max Verstappen, made some trips off the track, but nothing serious happened for the rest of the session.

The second practice ended with George Russell in first, Oscar Piastri in second and Lewis Hamilton in third again.