Kimi Antonelli beats Lando Norris to top spot in Dutch GP FP1

F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli returned from the summer holiday with a bang, topping Friday’s sole practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris.

The Mercedes driver clocked a 1:12.949, a tenth ahead of Norris, who was in turn 0.004s up George Russell.

Kimi Antonelli leads Lando Norris in Dutch GP FP1

Friday’s sole practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix got underway with a different Red Bull line-up at both Red Bull and Racing Bulls.

Liam Lawson was getting set in the RB22, filling in for the injured Isack Hadjar, while Yuki Tsunoda was back in the 22-driver field as he replaced Lawson at Racing Bulls.

Both drivers, though, were in for a difficult start to the weekend with one practice session ahead of Friday’s Sprint qualifying – and a few drops of rain falling.

The morning’s rain ended ahead of FP1 with Nico Hulkenberg the first to cover a proper lap in FP1, with the Audi driver reporting that the conditions were okay for slick tyres.

That was good news for the drivers with just one practice session ahead of the day’s Sprint qualifying.

Oscar Piastri headed out on the medium slick tyres to clock a 1:21.311, leading the way ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto.

As more drivers ventured out, championship leader Kimi Antonelli went quickest with a 1:15.351. That put him 0.094s ahead of George Russell, with Lando Norris third fastest.

F1 2026: The season’s winners and losers

The results of the F1 2026 championship

The F1 2026 Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship standings

The yellow flags were out as Carlos Sainz ran wide at the final chicane and ran through the gravel for the second time. He returned to the pit lane in 21st place, only Sergio Perez behind him on the timesheet.

Antonelli went spinning and didn’t know “what the heck happened” as Charles Leclerc and Hamilton made it a Ferrari 1-2. Leclerc topped the timesheet with a 1:14.146.

With just 60 minutes to nail down the set-up for not only qualifying but also the races, it was Leclerc who held onto P1 into the final 20 minutes.

Sainz, after his three offs was in the Williams garage with not only a new front wing, but also a set-up change. He returned to the track for a quali run.

And so began the qualifying gambits.

Piastri hit the front with a 1:13.608, but he was overhauled by the Ferraris as Hamilton dived around the slow-moving McLarens to go quickest with a 1:13.139.

Norris challenged Hamilton but lost ground through Turn 7. With traffic all over the pace, he was actually given a tow and went quickest with a 1::13.105.

It wasn’t enough, though to keep Antonelli at bay.

The championship leader finished FP1 with a 1:12.949, just over a tenth ahead of Norris. George Russell in third was a third of a second behind his teammate.

Dutch Grand Prix: FP1 times

1 Antonelli 1:12.949
2 Norris 1:13.070
3 Russell 1:13.074
4 Hamilton 1:13.139
5 Leclerc 1:13.238
6 Piastri 1:13.608
7 Hulkenberg 1:13.784
8 Gasly 1:13.784
9 Bortoleto 1:13.992
10 Lindblad 1:14.285

The full results from FP1 at Zandvoort

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read Next: Ferrari update plan continues in force but Alpine tops Zandvoort upgrades