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Mercedes top FP1 with a one-two as Verstappen stops on track in Zandvoort
Mercedes have claimed the top two positions in the first free practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix, as home favourite Max Verstappen stopped out on the track with a transmission issue. Carlos Sainz finished in third place with Charles Leclerc down in P6. McLaren were able to mix with Ferrari.
Verstappen FP1 party was short-lived
Verstappen started to put in some fast laps during the first free practice session and had climbed to the top within the first ten minutes. But the cheers in the opening hour were short-lived because the Dutchman stopped on track after just ten minutes. Verstappen reported a gearbox issue, though the amount of smoke pouring from the rear of the car put some question marks around that claim. Later in the session, Red Bull confirmed to GPblog that it was a transmission issue, and they told Verstappen to stop before making the problem worse.
The stoppage caused the first red flag of the weekend and Red Bull Racing were unable to get the car back out on track in time. That left Sergio Perez with a lot of work to do. It became clear that the balance of their car wasn't perfect. Perez locked up a couple of times at turn three and flirted with the barriers at various points. In the end, Perez finished around one second behind Russell. The Red Bull mechanics have work to do but it's something they're more than capable of fixing as the weekend progresses.
FP1 CLASSIFICATION
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2022
It's a one-two for @MercedesAMGF1 @OconEsteban and @NicholasLatifi record the most laps #DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/SGzba7foaG
Elsewhere
Mercedes had a quiet session with both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell sitting in the bottom half of the table for the majority of the 60 minutes. Mercedes opted to run the hard tyre with high fuel, clearly making some preparations for the race runs. With 15 minutes remaining, Russell and Hamilton put on the soft set of tyres and started to challenge the top spot. Hamilton had some radio issues and caused some problems with traffic.
McLaren were able to mix their best lap times with Ferrari. Ricciardo and Norris were both very quick through the slow-speed corners. They are in an intense battle with Alpine in the Constructors Championship and they seem to have the upper hand in the early part of the session. The chicane in the stadium section proved to be a challenge for the drivers. A lot of cars, including Daniel Ricciardo, had to run across the gravel.
