REPORT: 111 Laps Logged on Disrupted Day of Dutch Practice

Friday Practice around the twists and turns of Zandvoort provided the first chance to get back up to speed, though it proved to be an interrupted day of running.

The first Red Flag came just 11 minutes into FP1 when Kimi Antonelli beached his Mercedes at Turn 9. When the time arrived to bolt on the Softs, our duo were immediately in the top-10 picture.

Alex Albon’s best time of 1:11.171 placed him P5, with Carlos Sainz in P8 thanks to a 1:11.458.

FP2 began under the constant threat of rain that never quite arrived, creating a frantic start. Both drivers headed out on the Hard compound before switching to Softs after 10 minutes.

Moments later, the Red Flag flew again as Lance Stroll suffered a heavy impact at the banked Turn 3. Thankfully, the Canadian was able to walk away unharmed.

Running resumed after a short delay, but the Virtual Safety Car was soon deployed when Isack Hadjar lost power and pulled off in the middle sector.

Our drivers returned to the track on Softs once the green flag was shown, but the session was halted again – this time involving one of our cars.

Alex ran deep into Turn 1, making light contact with the barrier before becoming beached in the gravel, ending his session.

With the FW47 recovered, there was only time left for Carlos to complete a long-run programme, meaning neither driver set representative Soft tyre times. Carlos ended the day in P16 with a 1:11.682, while Alex finished P17 with a 1:11.756.

"It was a bit of a broken FP2 today, as every time I tried to finish a push lap, we had a Yellow or Red Flag on track," Carlos reflected.

"The pace was promising, and we made a good step between sessions, so I’m pleased with today. For tomorrow, somewhere in the top ten feels possible, so we’ll need to make sure we stay on it and focused throughout the entire weekend."

Alex added: "It’s easy to get caught around here with the gusts of wind but fortunately, it seems to only be the front wing that was damaged, so the car is looking okay.

"We hit the ground running in FP1 and we then made some changes going into FP2, but we didn’t get enough laps in to test if they worked or not. Looking at tomorrow, I wouldn’t mind rain, but I don’t think we have a bad car either, so we’ll focus on what we can improve overnight and set our sights on Q3 tomorrow."