F1 Dutch Grand Prix: Russell heads 1-2 in FP1 as Verstappen retires
2nd September 2022Mercedes’ George Russell headed a 1-2 finish in FP1 ahead of Sir Lewis Hamilton as Red Bull’s Max Verstappen retired with a mechanical issue.
How first practice unfolded…
Before the pit exit light went green, Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel headed the queue to get out on track. Red Bull’s defending world champion, Max Verstappen was one of the first drivers to set a lap time but his lap was hindered by a slow-moving Vettel.
After the first set of runs, Verstappen soon jumped to the top of the timing board with a 1:15.266, on the white-ringed, hard compound tyres.
The Virtual Safety Car was brought out as Verstappen peeled to the side of the track, just after the 10-minute mark. The Dutchman’s power-unit seemed to have a bad gear change before the engine died on him. The session was soon red flagged.
Over his team radio, Verstappen said:
“Something went with the gearbox.”
The session soon quickly got back underway with 40 minutes left to go.
As the session reached its halfway mark, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz topped the session ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, in P2 and P3, respectively. Most of the drivers, inside the top 10, were on soft tyre runs, only Verstappen was the only driver inside the top 10 with a different tyre compound.
Mercedes’ George Russell finally topped the timing board as the session crept into the final last 10 minutes with a 1:12.455, his teammate Sir Lewis Hamilton quickly joined him as he popped up to second place, 0.240 seconds off the pace. This demoted Sainz down to P3.
Fastest three:
- George Russell, Mercedes
- Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
That’s it for the article: Dutch Grand Prix: Russell heads 1-2 in FP1 as Verstappen retires! Who do you think is in contention for pole position this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
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