Lando Norris was the fastest driver on Friday at Zandvoort, confirming his excellent feeling with the Dutch circuit, where he dominated last year. He appears determined to close the nine-point gap separating him from teammate Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ standings. Meanwhile, Piastri is chasing with the third-fastest time, two tenths behind Norris in FP2, and was involved in a pit lane contact with George Russell that could have been costly.
Norris: “We can still improve. Aston Martins were the fastest”
“Today was a good day because the car is behaving well. I noticed improvements between FP1 and FP2, even though it seemed like the others recovered a bit more than we would have liked,” Norris summarized after the two post-summer break sessions, earning the top spot as the fastest driver on track. The British driver lowered his FP1 time despite FP2 being affected by extended interruptions due to incidents involving Lance Stroll and Alexander Albon. “I found good confidence with the car. Maybe we didn’t see everything we wanted, but I think the same applies to the others, so we can be satisfied with what we have. We collected useful information and have lots of data to analyze, so we can still improve in qualifying trim and with a heavy fuel load.”
Among Friday’s surprises was Aston Martin, particularly comfortable at Zandvoort, as they were in Budapest before the summer break. Norris was just two tenths faster than Fernando Alonso in the high-speed sections above 250 km/h during the race simulation. Both Alonso and Lance Stroll, who needs to regain confidence after his FP2 incident, are identified by the McLaren driver as rivals to watch throughout the weekend: “The Aston Martins weren’t far off in FP2. They were quite fast in Budapest too, so it’s not a big surprise. At the moment, they seem the fastest, but Max isn’t far off and used harder compound tires. The closest cars are the Aston Martins, while Red Bull and Ferrari seemed more troubled today. This isn’t the first time it has happened, and on Saturday they go fast. It’s better if we focus on ourselves.”
Piastri: “Improved throughout the day, we’re in a good place”
The confidence in Norris’s garage isn’t fully mirrored in Oscar Piastri’s. The Australian finished both sessions near the podium, closer in single-lap pace than in previous years, but in race simulation he lagged behind his teammate. During FP2, he risked a penalty due to incorrect instructions from the pit crew, leading to a contact with Russell that resulted in a fine. Oscar Piastri remains optimistic, aware that he can still fight until the end: “A solid return: it was nice to be back in the car and everything went fairly well. Some bad weather made things a bit more eventful, but I think we made some improvements throughout the day and found a bit more pace. I think we’re in a good place for tomorrow.”
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