2024 F1 Round 15, Dutch Grand Prix FP2: Russell fastest in 1m10.702s as Hulkenberg crash brings red flag, Verstappen fifth at home

Friday’s second practice session for the 2024 F1 Dutch Grand Prix, round 15 of the season, took place at Zandvoort on the evening of 23 August, China Standard Time (UTC+8). Mercedes’ George Russell brought the opening day to a close with a 1m10.702s lap, beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by 0.061 seconds. RB driver Yuki Tsunoda was seventh.

Unlike FP1, when track conditions changed dramatically from wet to dry, the second session remained sunny throughout despite the continued strong winds, allowing the teams to accumulate useful mileage. Mercedes and McLaren shared the top four places: Hamilton was third, 0.148 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Norris. Piastri had been forced to change his helmet shortly after the session began because of a visor problem. Verstappen, who had won every home Grand Prix since Zandvoort returned to the calendar in 2021, was only fifth in this session, although the top five were separated by just 0.284 seconds.

The red flag came with 43 minutes remaining when Haas driver Hulkenberg locked his rear wheels under braking for Turn 1 and went straight into the barriers. The abnormal braking behaviour suggested a possible mechanical problem. Fortunately, he was unhurt and walked back to the Haas garage, and the session subsequently resumed. Earlier, Russell had run into the gravel at Turn 8, Verstappen had spun at Turn 7 and Leclerc had suffered a major lock-up at Turn 1. With Hulkenberg out, Haas relied on Magnussen to complete its running programme; he ultimately finished eighth, ahead of Leclerc.

Tsunoda ended the opening day seventh, just 0.017 seconds behind sixth-placed Alonso. Team-mate Ricciardo was 0.256 seconds slower in 13th. Perez, whose seat was the subject of speculation, was around 0.6 seconds behind team-mate Verstappen and only 12th. Ferrari effectively relied on Leclerc alone to progress its programme: a gearbox problem ended Sainz’s running with 33 minutes remaining after just seven laps. If Saturday brought rain, Ferrari would face an expected dry race on Sunday with a shortage of dry-weather data. Williams, which had brought a substantial upgrade package, saw Albon beat Stroll to 10th, while Sargeant was 15th. After the session, Zhou Guanyu, Ricciardo, Albon and Stroll were summoned to the stewards over unsafe releases in the pit lane.

Third practice is scheduled for 17:30 on Saturday, 24 August, China Standard Time (UTC+8).