Dutch GP: Norris sees off Alonso threat as Stroll crashes hard in FP2

McLaren once more set the pace in FP2 at the Dutch Grand Prix, as Lando Norris made it a Friday practice clean sweep.

But, the comfortable buffer of FP1 disappeared, as Fernando Alonso split the McLarens, 0.087s down on Norris. Lance Stroll meanwhile escaped harm after a heavy crash in the sister Aston Martin.

McLaren continue to lead the way at Dutch Grand Prix

As the light went green to get FP2 underway, the track remained dry. But, dark clouds were gathering around the circuit with rain expected. The traffic jam at the end of the pit lane, demonstrated the desire to get out there in dry conditions.

The rain had begun to fall during the opening flying laps, but it was not yet enough to impact the track. Norris – the FP1 session-topper – delivered a 1:12.615 on the mediums as the early benchmark. That was quickly bettered by Carlos Sainz on hards, then Fernando Alonso on mediums, who gave a “blind” Antonelli the hand of frustration for impeding through Turn 7.

Yuki Tsunoda irked Charles Leclerc for the same reason coming out of the final turn.

The heavier rain was potentially still to come, and precious time was soon lost when Lance Stroll hit the wall hard at Turn 3. “I’m fine,” Stroll thankfully confirmed after a heavy collision at the banked turn.

The session resumed with a little under 40 minutes remaining, but there was no rush this time for the drivers to return. The updated radar suggested that heavier rain would now miss the track.

As the track became busier, we quickly had a Virtual Safety Car interruption to the action. Isack Hadjar had lost power and parked his Racing Bulls car at Turn 8. With an escape road available, it proved a short delay.

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Oliver Bearman could look at the timing screens with pride at the halfway point as he switched to softs and went P1. Staying there would be hard.

Hamilton though was not an immediate threat, as he went spinning in his Ferrari. The rear of the SF-25 turned around on him coming out of Turn 9. Thankfully, all barriers were avoided.

That followed Hamilton’s 360° during the opening session on the way into Turn 3, the Ferrari remaining a handful.

However, Hamilton still went a tenth faster than team-mate Charles Leclerc when he got a soft-tyre lap on the board.

Aston Martin continued to look strong with the switch to softs, as Alonso split the McLarens, Norris P1 and Piastri P3. 0.089s covered that top three.

But, the soft runs were soon halted. Alex Albon dipped the left front on the grass going into Turn 1, and locked-up the front right. That sent he and the Williams sliding into the gravel. A front-on whack of the barriers resulted in a broken front wing and the red flags returning.

Piastri and Russell so nearly came to blows in the pit lane. Piastri swung the nose of his McLaren left ahead of veering into the pit box. The problem –  Russell was there in his Mercedes, and so nearly got taken out. That one was to be investigated by the stewards.

Back to green and the qualifying simulations resumed, but the top three remained unchanged. Norris made it a Friday clean sweep, while Alonso gave Aston Martin further reason for optimism.

Check out the full Dutch Grand Prix FP2 results here.

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