Max Verstappen set the early pace as Formula 1 action resumed after the summer break with FP1 for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
Verstappen set a time of 1:11.852s, 0.2s ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in second place, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes.
Home hero Verstappen is chasing nine consecutive wins this weekend to match Sebastian Vettel’s record from 2013.
Read More: F1 2023 — Dutch GP FP1 Results
The session got underway at 12:30 local time with the Dutch crowd interrupting their chorus of ‘Sweet Caroline’ to cheer on the F1 grid as they emerged from the pitlane, with the loudest cheers reserved for Dutchman and championship leader Verstappen.
The cars were able to attack the banked curves of the seaside Zandvoort circuit amid clear weather and a consistent sea breeze.
It took just six minutes for Verstappen to pick up the dominant form he held in the first half of the season by going top of the timesheets early on in the session.
Logan Sargeant was the first driver to run soft tyres and promptly topped the timesheets with the gripper rubber shortly after with a 1:12.814 lap approximately halfway through the session.
Sargeant was surpassed by the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, with the American’s Williams teammate Alex Albon slotting into second as more runners went with the soft rubber.
The Red Flag came out with 18 minutes of the session left to run after Nico Hulkenberg lost control of the rear of his Haas midway through the penultimate corner of the circuit and spun off into the gravel.
The session resumed with a little over 10 minutes remaining and the majority of the gird went out on track to set a faster time and sure enough Verstappen pushed the pace to go quickest with his time of 1:11.852 with just over seven minutes left to run.
The session ended with Verstappen on top with Alonso just under three-tenths back in second with a time of 1:12.130 and Hamilton rounding out the top three with his time of 1:12.225.
Verstappen’s teammate Perez finished fourth, 0.471s behind his teammate with Williams’ Albon impressing in fifth, just 0.595s off of the leading Red Bull with his time of 1:12.447.
Sixth went to Lando Norris, with the McLaren driver lapping the Zandvoort circuit with a time of 1:12.460.
It was an impressive session for Williams, with Sargeant finishing the session in seventh place with a time of 1:12.617, just 0.765s back from Verstappen’s benchmark.
Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished eighth, with a time 0.806s off of the lead with his best lap of 1:12.658.
The top-10 was rounded out by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in ninth with a time of 1:12.749, and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon in 10th with a time of 1:12.802.
Rookie Robert Shwartzman got a run out in the Ferrari and finished the session in 19th, 2.951s off of Verstappen’s leading time.
Lance Stroll was unable to post a time with his Aston Martin resigned to the pits with a technical issue.
The Dutch GP continues with FP2 which gets underway at 16:00 local time (15:00 BST).
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