George Russell emerged as the fastest driver from the opening free practice session of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, finishing ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
The Mercedes driver set a 1:12.455, while Hamilton was two-tenths of a second down.
Despite having the local support behind him, Max Verstappen’s weekend got off to a difficult start as he pulled to the side of the road early on in the session.
Smoke billowed from the rear of his Red Bull car as he reported an issue with the gearbox. He managed just seven laps in the one-hour outing.
Carlos Sainz was third fastest for Ferrari, leading the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo in fourth and fifth respectively.
Charles Leclerc was sixth fastest in the second Ferrari, while Sergio Perez was seventh – almost one-second slower than pace-setter Russell.
The Mexican driver had an off-track moment midway through the session, running through the grass at Turn 9.
Mick Schumacher was noted for leaving the pit lane during the red flag period that was deployed when Verstappen stopped – however the stewards judged that no investigation was necessary.
Alpine, whose 2023 driver line-up has been heavily discussed this weekend, was eighth and ninth on the timesheet, with Esteban Ocon leading team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Following his run to a points finish last time out at Spa-Francorchamps, Alexander Albon completed the top 10 for Williams.
FP2 from Circuit Zandvoort will get underway at 16:00 local time.
[motorsport_result id=’91185′]
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