Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton fastest at Dutch FP1 after Max Verstappen suffers gearbox problem

George Russell led a Mercedes one-two in first practice at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday.

Russell recorded a time of 1:12.455, a quarter of a second quicker than his teammate Lewis Hamiltlon.

Hamilton was coming back after a spat with Fernando Alonso at last weekend’s Belgian race, but on Thursday the pair settled their differences as Hamilton gave his former teammate a signed cap by way of apology. Alonso was eighth fastest.

Max Verstappen, at his home Grand Prix, suffered a technical problem with his transmission midway through the race, bringing a red flag and leaving him only quicker than Williams Nicholas Latifi.

He managed just seven laps, with other drivers recording three or four times that.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third quickest, and his teammate Charles Leclerc was sixth fastest.

Elsewhere, Red Bull’s second driver Sergio Perez was seventh quickest, Lando Norris was fourth fastest in his McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo, due to leave the McLaren team at the end of the season, placed fifth.