Dutch GP FP3: Norris completes practice sweep as Russell-Alonso near miss heads to stewards
Lando Norris locked down a clean sweep of practice at Zandvoort, the McLaren driver topping a damp-but-drying FP3 by a handy quarter of a second over teammate Oscar Piastri. George Russell was third for Mercedes but will spend part of his afternoon explaining a hairy pit-entry moment with Fernando Alonso to the stewards.
Overnight rain left the circuit green and greasy, the session officially “wet” even as the skies held. Nobody rushed to test the grip, and when they did it was the rookies who blinked first: Isack Hadjar broke cover early for Racing Bulls after a Friday power unit drama, while Lance Stroll tiptoed through an installation lap in a fully rebuilt Aston Martin following his FP2 shunt and overnight chassis change.
Once the surface began to take rubber, the usual orange-tinted rhythm returned. Kimi Antonelli set the first meaningful time before Gabriel Bortoleto briefly claimed the top slot for Sauber. Then the big hitters arrived. On softs, Norris punched out a 1:10.2 with Piastri in tow. Max Verstappen, navigating traffic and still on mediums, was initially seven tenths adrift at his home race before chipping away.
There was plenty going on in the garages, too. At Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton completed a single lap before the sidepods came off the SF-25 as the team dove into set-up surgery. At Mercedes, Antonelli reported a stuck pedal that parked him in the box. And at the sharp end, the McLaren battle only got hotter: Piastri briefly nosed ahead before Norris answered with a 1:08.972 that nobody could touch.
Verstappen’s morning also featured a tetchy run-in with Pierre Gasly as the pair played “after you” down the straight, Verstappen none too impressed with the Alpine’s pace management. The moment of the session, though, belonged to Russell and Alonso: the Aston appeared to commit to Russell’s right on the run to the pit entry just as the Mercedes peeled across to box. Both reacted fast; both missed the wall by a margin that didn’t look generous. Race Control noted it immediately, and Russell will have a post-session chat with the stewards.
Behind the McLarens, Russell was the nearest chaser, nearly nine tenths off, on a circuit that tends to punish any hesitation. Carlos Sainz continued to look lively in the Williams with fourth, while Verstappen could do no better than fifth as Red Bull searched for a window on a track evolving corner by corner. Charles Leclerc slotted the second Ferrari into sixth, Alexander Albon added more blue-and-white to the top ten in seventh, and Stroll’s rebuilt AMR25 was a commendable eighth. Hadjar impressed again in ninth for Racing Bulls; Alonso rounded out the top ten after that scare.
Hamilton’s muted session left him 14th with limited running, while Oliver Bearman showed solid pace for Haas on the hard tyre. Notable, too: Bortoleto’s early headline cameos translated to 13th as Sauber continue to look friskier over one lap than long runs.
As for the bigger picture? McLaren look like they’ve got the car switched on in every condition, and Norris is driving with the calm of a man who trusts the rear to stick wherever he points it. Piastri’s there, ready to pounce if Norris blinks. Red Bull haven’t shown their final hand yet — they rarely do on a Saturday morning — but they’ll need to find a cleaner lap and a bit more front grip to stop this from becoming papaya versus the rest in qualifying.
FP3 classification
1. Lando Norris, McLaren – 1:08.972
2. Oscar Piastri, McLaren +0.242
3. George Russell, Mercedes +0.886
4. Carlos Sainz, Williams +0.941
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing +0.953
6. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +0.966
7. Alexander Albon, Williams +1.127
8. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1.131
9. Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls +1.194
10. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +1.260
11. Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls +1.328
12. Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing +1.377
13. Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber +1.389
14. Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari +1.401
15. Oliver Bearman, Haas +1.623
16. Nico Hülkenberg, Sauber +1.627
17. Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes +1.725
18. Esteban Ocon, Haas +1.829
19. Pierre Gasly, Alpine +1.991
20. Franco Colapinto, Alpine +2.082
Qualifying at Zandvoort tends to be all about commitment and timing, and if the clouds keep playing games, expect a queue at pit exit and nerves on a knife edge. On current evidence, it’s Norris’s to lose — but this place has a way of springing a surprise right when you think it’s settled.
