Netherlands – EL2: Russell in front, McLaren, Mercedes and Verstappen in the fight

• This time, the pilots did not have to wait until the last ten minutes to see the Zandvoort sun. In a more summery environment than during EL1, the 20 dragsters on the grid first came out mainly on mediums, with the exception of a few courageous people who chose hard rubber. It was only after 25 minutes that the soft rubber finally made its appearance, with a close battle between McLaren, Mercedes et Red Bull, before the next half hour is devoted to long relays.
• More comfortable on the soft train, George Russell set the best time with a short head in front Oscar piastri (+0″061) and Lewis Hamilton (+0″111). The fight, however, promises to be very intense between the three leading teams since Lando Norris et Max Verstappen only point to 259 and 284/1000th respectively. The Dutchman, local hero, appeared to complain about his car, who does not display the same sovereignty here as in previous years, since he has been undefeated since the return of Zandvoort to the calendar in 2021.
• Note the presence in 6th position of Fernando Alonso, including L'Aston Martin found a certain ease on a track which had earned him a podium last year. The Spaniard finishes ahead Yuki tsunoda, Kevin Magnussen… but also Charles Leclerc, only 9th by more than 7/10th despite a choice of identical tires compared to the fastest of the day. Really does not bode well for Ferrari. Carlos Sainz had to end his session a little before mid-session as a precaution due to a gearbox problem. The car was therefore dismantled very quickly. The Spaniard only covered 7 short laps.

Unfortunately we've encountered a gearbox issue on @ Carlossainz55's car, meaning his FP2 is over 😞 #DutchGP 🇳🇱 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Yl86l08kih

— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 23, 2024

• Already gone out to sea three times in free practice 1 on a drying track, Nico Hulkenberg made a mistake after only 20 minutes of session in FP2, with more consequences this time by losing the rear of his car when braking for turn 1. The wheels immediately locked up when braking, the German finishing his race in the techpro and causing a short red flag.
• At Alpine, Pierre Gasly is 14th less than a second from the reference time, whileEsteban Ocon is 17th by more than 1″3. The next meetings of the Formula 1 are scheduled for this Saturday. First at 11:30 a.m. for Free Practice 3, then at 15 p.m. for the qualifying session.

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