F1: Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 in opening practice for Dutch GP

With hometown hero Max Verstappen out with a failed gearbox in his #1 Red Bull Honda, George Russell topped opening practice for the Dutch GP at Zandvoort.

The session was red flagged with 45 minutes to go, as his stricken car was removed from the track, with Verstappen, who waved to the crowd on his way back to the pits, taking no further part.

Russell’s time of 1m12.455s in his #63 Mercedes was 0.240s faster than his teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was 3rd quick for Ferrari, 0.390s behind.

McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top-5.

Charles Leclerc in the #16 Ferrari and Sergio Perez in the #11 Red Bull Honda were only 6th and 7th, with Alpine duo Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon eighth and ninth respectively, albeit more than a second off the pace.

Alex Albon completed the top 10 for Williams, his team mate Nicholas Latifi a full second back.

Red Bull will now have to scramble to repair Verstappen’s gearbox in time for Practice 2.

Practice 1 Results

POS	NO	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:12.455	+0.000	28
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:12.695	+0.240s	27
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:12.845	+0.390s	29
4	4	Lando Norris	Mclaren Mercedes	1:12.929	+0.474s	31
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Mclaren Mercedes	1:13.077	+0.622s	30
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:13.127	+0.672s	29
7	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:13.416	+0.961s	29
8	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	1:13.633	+1.178s	30
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	1:13.963	+1.508s	32
10	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	1:14.063	+1.608s	28
11	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	1:14.163	+1.708s	28
12	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:14.257	+1.802s	29
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:14.405	+1.950s	30
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Alphatauri Honda	1:14.474	+2.019s	27
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:14.500	+2.045s	27
16	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	1:14.534	+2.079s	17
17	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Alphatauri Honda	1:14.630	+2.175s	30
18	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	1:14.695	+2.240s	21
19	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	1:14.714	+2.259s	7
20	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	1:15.122	+2.667s	32