Lando Norris outpaced world championship leader Max Verstappen to top second practice in Zandvoort on Friday; Daniel Ricciardo taken to hospital after suffering apparent hand injury in crash; watch Dutch GP Qualifying live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm on Saturday
Friday 25 August 2023 18:20, UK
Lando Norris provided further evidence of McLaren's resurgence by outpacing Red Bull's Max Verstappen to top second practice at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The British driver delivered a 1:11.330 in Zandvoort to finish 0.023s clear of world championship leader Verstappen, who had topped Friday's opening session at his home race.
While Verstappen, who holds a 125-point lead at the top of the drivers' standings and is chasing a record-equalling ninth successive race victory, appeared to deliver an imperfect lap, Norris' performance suggests McLaren could be in the hunt for pole on Saturday.
Alex Albon backed up fifth in Practice One by taking an impressive third ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, who aside from Norris appears the driver most likely to challenge Verstappen over one lap.
Norris' rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri was unable to take advantage of the impressive MCL60 after a crash at Turn 3 ended his session after just nine minutes.
Piastri was bizarrely followed into the barrier moments later by AlphaTauri's Daniel Ricciardo, who was forced to take evasive action having been late in noticing the stricken McLaren, with the double-incident bringing out a red flag.
Ricciardo complained over team radio that he had injured his hand and then struggled to get out of the car. His participation for the remainder of the weekend appears to be in doubt after he was taken to hospital for checks while the session continued.
His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda took fifth ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly, with both cars surprisingly outpacing Red Bull's Sergio Perez, along with several other usual front-runners.
Also further down the order than expected was Fernando Alonso, who could only manage 10th having finished the opening session second in his upgraded Aston Martin.
Ferrari also endured a concerning start to the weekend, with Charles Leclerc 11th and team-mate Carlos Sainz 16th having missed Practice One to allow Robert Shwartzman to fulfil one of the Italian team's allocated rookie driver sessions.
Having crashed out of first practice, Haas' Nico Hulkenberg avoided further disappointment as he escaped punishment after being called to the stewards after the session for impeding Verstappen.
After a disastrous start to the season, McLaren's remarkable turnaround following the introduction of updates in Austria has made them a credible contender in the battle to be the best of the rest behind Red Bull.
Norris took successive second places in Britain and Hungary, but regression in Belgium left some uncertainty over whether the British team could continue to compete at the front of the grid after the summer break.
Despite Piastri's mishap, Friday provided evidence that McLaren are as likely as any other team to end Red Bull's streak of 12 victories to start the season.
As for Verstappen, who has all-but secured a third successive title, the Dutchman is unlikely to be phased by Norris' speed, with Red Bull's strongest performance throughout the season having come in race trim on a Sunday.
Also desperate to end Red Bull's dominance is Hamilton, who continued the strong form he showed before the summer break to once more comfortably outperform team-mate George Russell on Friday.
While the possibility of a repeat of the seven-time world champion's thrilling pole in Hungary appears unlikely, Mercedes appeared content with the performance of a setup that team principal Toto Wolff said is more geared towards Sunday.
Also potentially spicing up the weekend could be the weather, with showers forecast for both Saturday and Sunday in the Dutch coastal town.
SATURDAY AUGUST 26
10.15am: Dutch GP Practice Three (session starts 10.30am)
12.10pm: F2 Sprint Race
1.15pm: Dutch GP Qualifying build-up
2pm: Dutch GP Qualifying
SUNDAY AUGUST 27
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Dutch GP build-up
2pm: THE DUTCH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Dutch GP reaction
5.30pm: Dutch GP highlights
Formula 1 returns after the summer break with the Dutch GP and all sessions will be live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW for just £26 a month for 12 months. Cancel anytime
