Russell leads Dutch GP FP1, as Verstappen stops with transmission issue

George Russell led teammate Lewis Hamilton in FP1 for the Dutch Grand Prix, ahead of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz.

Russell’s best time of 1:12.455 was 0.240 quicker than Hamilton, after the pair elected to do their runs midway through the session.

This followed an early red flag caused by Max Verstappen, who stopped out on track with a suspected transmission issue.

The Dutchman only completed seven laps in front of his home crowd, before his RB18 suffered the mechanical problem coming out of T2.

Red Bull replaced components in the gearbox prior to the session, electing to get him out of the car to investigate the problem and ensure there isn’t any further damage inflicted to the car.

Carlos Sainz set the early pace once the session restarted, as the drivers started to complete their runs on the Soft tyre. This was later beaten by the two Mercedes drivers, relegating the Ferrari driver to third quickest.

This was ahead of the two McLaren’s of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who put in a strong showing to end the session fourth and fifth fastest respectively.

Tough session for Perez as Williams shows Top 10 pace

Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was having a tough session, struggling to keep up with the pace set by the Ferrari’s and Mercedes drivers.

The Mexican narrowly avoided causing another red flag, when went off the track on the exit of Turn 2 and nearly hit the barrier. He ended the session seventh fastest behind Charles Leclerc.

Alex Albon rounded out the top 10 following his first points finish at Spa Francorchamps last weekend. Williams was trialling a new front wing with Albon, getting him to do back-to-back tests throughout the session.

Alpha Tauri was also testing a new rear wing on their car, however Pierre Gasly could only manage a time good enough for 14th quickest while Tsunoda was 17th fastest at the flag.