Formula One roared back to life at Zandvoort as the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team resumed its campaign following the summer shutdown. Friday’s practice sessions were marked by unpredictable skies, gusty winds, and a series of red flags—but the team made solid progress in understanding tyre behavior and car balance ahead of a critical qualifying day.
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli took to the track with a split program focused on single-lap pace and long-run consistency. FP1 began under dry conditions, with both drivers starting on the C3 compound. Unfortunately, Kimi’s session ended early after a lock-up at Turn 9 left him beached in the gravel. George completed his run with a switch to C4s before finishing the session on Mediums, placing P7 with a best time of 1:11.386.
FP2 brought light rain and more interruptions, but the team pressed on. George ran a competitive long stint on Hard tyres and posted a strong P4 finish with a time of 1:10.274. Kimi rebounded from his FP1 setback, focusing on Soft compound runs and finishing P12 with a time of 1:11.185. Despite multiple red and yellow flags, both drivers gathered valuable data for Saturday’s setup.
Driver Feedback
George Russell (#63): “It’s great to be back after the break. The wind made things tricky today, especially around the exposed corners here at Zandvoort.
Our single-lap pace wasn’t quite where we wanted, but the long-run performance looked encouraging. If we can carry that into the weekend, we’ll be in a good place.”
Kimi Antonelli (#50): “FP1 was frustrating—I was pushing to build tyre temp and ended up in the gravel. FP2 was much better. I got more laps in, built confidence, and learned a lot.
There’s still work to do, but I know what to focus on heading into FP3 and qualifying.”
Engineering Insight
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: “The changing weather forecast added complexity to today’s sessions. George struggled a bit on low fuel early on but found a better rhythm in FP2. McLaren still looks strong, but our long-run pace is promising. Kimi had a tough start but recovered well. With Zandvoort’s short lap and tight margins, qualifying will be critical—but we’re confident we can fight for a strong result on Sunday.”
F1 Academy Update
Mercedes Junior Doriane Pin continued her impressive form, finishing P3 in her second practice session as she looks to extend her lead in the F1 Academy standings.