Alonso emerges to second, with the new ground, only behind Verstappen
New soil, new life. At Aston Martin they confidently awaited the parts for this Dutch Grand Prix and after what was seen in Free Practice 1, they had reason to be confident. Fernando Alonso, a long way from Canada from the first places in any type of session, finished second, behind only Max Verstappen, by just over two tenths. In the absence of confirmation throughout the weekend, the staging has been optimal. Those from Silverstone have completely changed the floor, the initial mouthpieces, the lower separators, which channel the airflow, the outer edges that close the flow on the sides and the diffuser, as well as small changes in the rear cooling nozzles and on the engine cover. You have to be cautious, but the results were seen immediately at McLaren in its day, and now it happens with Aston Martin.
It was a single attempt for Fernando, after a difficult start with the medium compound, in which he had to validate the new soil and even test one of the escape routes. Then everything was to improve and climb positions
Lance Stroll was not so lucky, who after only two installation laps with the new ground could no longer return to the track. A very valid information that remains in the pipeline for Aston Martin. “Lance has a suspected power unit issue which is being investigated, which has put an end to his FP1,” the team reported of him.
Sainz, in Free 2
Carlos Sainz was replaced in these Free 1 sessions by the Russian driver with the Israeli flag, Robert Shwartzman, a Ferrari tester, on one of the two occasions in which the teams are required throughout each season. After a three-week break, it does not seem ideal for the Madrid player for the rest of the weekend, on paper.
Hulkenberg accident
With 17 minutes remaining, the German lost the Haas, spun and slid until he touched the wall. His car was removed by the crane, with a red flag on the track. Free Practice 1, Dutch GP 2023
1º M. Verstappen Red Bull 1’11″852
2nd Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1’12″130 +00″278
3rd L. Hamilton, Mercedes 1’12″225 +00″373
4th S. Perez Red Bull 1’12″323 +00″471
5th A. Albon Williams 1’12″447 +00″595
6th L. Norris McLaren 1’12″460 +00″608
7th L Sergeant Williams 1’12″617 +00″765
8th O. Piastri McLaren 1’12″658 +00″806
9th Y. Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1’12″749 +00″897
10º E. Ocon Alpine 1’12″802 +00″950
11th G. Russell, Mercedes 1’12″813 +00″961
12th P. Gasly Alpine 1’12″895 +01″043
13º D. Ricciardo AlphaTauri 1’12″990 +01″138
14th K. Magnussen Haas 1’13″322 +01″470
15th V. Bottas Alfa Romeo 1’13″448 +01″596
16th C. Leclerc Ferrari 1’13″519 +01″667
17th G. Zhou Alfa Romeo 1’13″826 +01″974
18th N. Hulkenberg Haas 1’14″023 +02″171
19th R. Shwartzman Ferrari 1’14″803 +02″951
20th L. Stroll Aston Martin 55’55″555 +54’43″703
Verstappen, start
From the first bars, the World Championship leader dominated with the hard compound, followed at a great distance by Hamilton. The two Aston Martins tested the new floor at constant speed, without setting valid times, in a validation program for the new parts.
Fernando’s first valid time, with 37 minutes to go, placed him 14th, with the middle. He then improved to place 11th, 1.3 seconds behind the best time of the local driver, always in command of the time sheets, ahead of the Mercedes
after the first game
1st M. Verstappen Red Bull ® 1’13″191
2nd L. Hamilton, Mercedes (D) 1’13″847 +00″656
3rd V. Bottas Alfa Romeo 1’13″875 +00″684
4th S. Perez Red Bull 1’13″950 +00″759
5th L Sergeant Williams 1’14″292 +01″101
6th Mr. Ricciardo AlphaTauri 1’14″335 +01″144
7th P. Gasly Alpine 1’14″356 +01″165
8th A. Albon Williams 1’14″480 +01″289
9º E. Ocon Alpine 1’14″503 +01″312
10th G. Russell Mercedes 1’14″510 +01″319
11º F. Alonso Aston Martin 1’14″520 +01″329
12th K. Magnussen Haas 1’14″824 +01″633
13th C. Leclerc Ferrari 1’15″287 +02″096