Zandvoort [Netherlands], August 25 : Max Verstappen of Red Bull set the early pace on Formula 1's return from the summer break, topping the timesheets in the first practice in Dutch Grand Prix ahead of his brisk rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
The drivers resumed their racing duties after a three-week break to begin the second half of the season. They arrived to clear, blue skies, warm weather, and crowded stands filled with fervent spectators.
As the session's green light came on, the drivers flew onto a dusty track, many of them wanting to glean information on their new improvements. They were led out by Kevin Magnussen, who had just recently reached an extension with Haas.
With home favorite Verstappen leading the early pace and Lewis Hamilton trailing by more than six-tenths of a second, several drivers opted for the hard tyres in the early going, while a select handful ran the mediums.
However, Aston Martin took a 20-minute delay before hitting the course, and things did not go smoothly. On the other side of the garage, Lance Stroll had terrible news when he was advised to box because of a possible power unit problem, while Fernando Alonso was completing the circuit.
Verstappen, who skidded through the gravel at Turn 12 at the conclusion of practice, rocketed to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1m 11.852s, outpacing Alonso by 0.278s when the action resumed with 11 minutes remaining in the session.
Hamilton was the one who suffered from Hulkenberg's accident because he had to end a brief lap under the yellow flags, but he still managed to finish third for Mercedes ahead of Perez in fourth place for the other Red Bull.
Between the AlphaTauri drivers were the Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in 10th and 12th, respectively, with George Russell in the other Mercedes encountering traffic on his fast lap, leaving him down in 11th.
Despite not using the soft tyre in the practice, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeos finished 15th and 17th, respectively, ahead of Magnussen, who finished 14th for Haas.
Ferrari was another team that chose not to use the soft tyre. Charles Lecelrc, who was filling in for Carlos Sainz during the practice, finished 16th for Ferrari while reserve driver Robert Shwartzman finished 19th. Hulkenberg and Stroll came in 18th and 20th, respectively, after failing to get back on the right track.
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