FP1: Verstappen edges Alonso and Hamilton in opening practice

F1 Grand Prix, GP Netherlands, Circuit Park Zandvoort

Home hero Max Verstappen ended the opening practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix on top of the leaderboard, beating Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso and Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton.

Championship runaway leader Max Verstappen, who won the Dutch Grand Prix in the last two years, kicked off his weekend on home soil in perfect style as he ended up fastest after the opening 60 minutes of running. The Dutchman led the way early on in the session on the hard compound before setting a benchmark of 1m11.852s on Pirelli's red-walled soft compound.

With his Aston Martin sporting a heavily revised floor at Zandvoort, Fernando Alonso finished the practice second fastest, only three tenths of a second slower than the reigning champion. His team-mate Lance Stroll failed to set a timed lap as he was forced to limp back to the pit on his installation lap due to a suspected issue to the power unit of his car.

Using an updated floor this weekend, Lewis Hamilton appeared to be very competitive both on hards and softs, setting the third-fastest lap time in the end. His team-mate George Russell, who struggled for pace in final F1 rounds before the summer break, ended up only 9th fastest.

Ferrari displayed low-key performance in the opening session. Charles Leclerc finished down in P16, only using the hard and the medium compound, putting his focus on heavy fuel performance in the dying stages of the session.

At the other side of the Ferrari garage, it was Robert Shwartzman to climb behind the wheel as the Russo-Israeli took over the car of Carlos Sainz for the opening 60-minute session. The former F3 champion concentrated on the hard compound before setting the 19th fastest lap on Pirelli's yellow-sided mediums.

The session was red-flagged with 17 minutes left on the clock after Nico Hulkenberg lost the back of his Haas at Turn 14 and spun off. The gravel trap did a good job to scrub his speed, but he touched the barriers with the brand-new front wing of his Haas picking up damage.