Zandvoort, Netherlands: Britain's Lando Norris was fastest in the first practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix Friday, pipping home favourite Max Verstappen in wildly unpredictable weather conditions on the Zandvoort circuit.
In classic Dutch seaside fashion, the weather veered from torrential rain to bright sunshine and back again in a matter of minutes, making tyre and racing strategy a major headache.
On a thrilling last lap of practice, Verstappen briefly took the fastest lap time in his Red Bull before McLaren's Norris seized back the advantage with a 1:12.322 lap.
Verstappen was just 0.201 seconds behind, with the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton third, a further 0.483 seconds behind the Dutchman. On the wet track, even Verstappen locked up his wheels and spun out of control just as he looked to be delivering the fastest lap.
Then the clouds parted, the sun emerged, and the lap times quickened appreciably, the lead changing hands several times over the hour of practice. Local hero Verstappen has never lost at his "home" Grand Prix since it was reintroduced to the circuit in 2021.
The three-time champion had a blistering start to the season, picking up from where he left off in 2023 with seven wins out of the first 10. But he has endured a lean spell by his high standards, failing to take the chequered flag in any of the last four Grands Prix -- his most barren period since 2020.
This has given the chasing pack, led by Norris, some hope they can somehow prevent Verstappen cruising to a fourth world championship. Norris sits 78 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship and while he hopes to overhaul the Dutchman, he was realistic about his chances before the race.
"It's a lot of points and it's against Max, so I want to be optimistic and say there's still chances, I know it's a lot and it's going to be a very difficult challenge."
His boss, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, said that Norris "definitely has the potential of a world champion and he's performing at world championship level."
Whether he can top the standings this year remains an open question, though, Stella told reporters. "Numerically, from a driver's championship point of view, it looks like there's a big gap to fill and we are chasing Max Verstappen, so definitely he's not going to make it easy for us." "But we are excited to be in this position."
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
