F1 News: Norris tops Practice 1 for Dutch GP in superior McLaren

McLaren brought a heavily modified car to the 2024 Dutch GP and Lando Norris put it on top in Practice 1 for the 2024 Dutch GP with a lap of 1m12.322s around the Zandvoort circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Norris was 0.201s faster than local favorite Max Verstappen in the #1 Red Bull Honda. Verstappen is looking for a 4th straight win of the Dutch GP.

In a session that started in heavy rain, but then saw the track dry, Lewis Hamilton was 3rd quick for Mercedes, 0.684s behind Norris.

Carlos Sainz Jr. and George Russell rounded out the top behind Norris

McLaren’s massive updates for this race are:

• New brake scoop which is aimed at helping improve the airflow conditions downstream to improve aerodynamic load.
• Revised front suspension to help optimize the changed airflow off the front brake geometry
• New floor edge to add more downforce in that area, as well as help improving flow conditioning to the rest of the underside.
• Modified rear suspension to boost flow conditioning around the rear corner, the diffuser and beam wing area
• New high-downforce rear wing aimed at performance for the demands of Zandvoort type circuits
• New beam wing to work in conjunction with the changed rear wing.

A wet and windy session that ended with sunshine – Zandvoort threw everything at the drivers there, with the wets, intermediates and slicks all on show.

Ferrari were the only team to run the mediums towards the end, everyone else opting for a set of the softs as they chased lap time late on once the racing line dried out.

2024 Dutch GP Practice 1 Results