Max Verstappen topped the opening practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix in an hour of running which suggested a bounce back of sorts from Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso was second best at Zandvoort to suggest the Silverstone squad had recaptured some of the form that propelled it to six podiums from the opening eight races of the year.
That saw him beat Lewis Hamilton, who was third but his best lap was compromised by a red flag for Nico Hulkenberg in the final third of the session.
The early laps saw a mix of hard and medium compound rubber on a circuit that had enjoyed little in the way of support programme track action.
As a result, it was dusty and slippery, with a breeze blowing down the front straight.
Ferrari had given Robert Shwartzman the nob to step in for Carlos Sainz, the first reserve driver to see action over a race weekend this season, as required under the regulations.
He had a set of the hard compound tyres fitted initially, as did the two Red Bull drivers who headed the field after the early running.
That lasted only until George Russell went fastest, though times were meaningless on the dusty Zandvoort circuit.
Times were still two seconds off that set by Russell in the same session a year ago, demonstrating the lack of grip on track.
Scuderia AlphaTauri was using the session to evaluate upgrades on its car, Yuki Tsunoda carrying a significant aero rake on his car.
McLaren had a slightly more subtle rake fitted to Lando Norris’ car as the squad evaluated a new rear wing on his car.
Lance Stroll had remained in the garage through the opening 20 minutes before he emerged on track.
His stint was short, just two laps before the team called him in with a problem – acknowledged by the Canadian who reported an unusual sound.
As he boxed, Verstappen held the fastest lap at 1:13.191s, more than half a second clear of Hamilton in second and Alfa Romeo Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas third, 0.03s slower than his former Mercedes team-mate.
Red Bull had been looking at the airflow through the sidepods of the all-conquering RB19.
Midway through the session, Logan Sargeant had a set of soft tyres bolted onto his Williams, the first driver to swap to the red-walled rubber.
Sitting sixth as he started the run, he shot to the top of the timesheets by 0.3s.
That triggered a flurry of others beginning qualifying simulations, Sergio Perez the most significant of those in the initial swap.
Predictably, the Mexican went fastest with a 1:12.439s, a time 0.7s faster than his team-mate was capable of on the hard tyres earlier in the session.
Following a cooldown lap, a second effort run from Sargeant saw him move within 0.1s of Perez, though he remained third – Albon was faster, just 0.008s off top spot.
A mistake for Nico Hulkenberg saw the Haas driver off the road at the penultimate corner to draw the red flag.
He was left pointing backwards in the gravel, the right front up against the barrier with the car appearing otherwise unscathed.
The rear end had stepped out on the newly re-signed German, who performed a neat 180, the contact with the barrier comparatively light.
The stoppage occurred with 19 minutes remaining, getting going again eight minutes later.
Soft tyres were the preferred option thereafter, Verstappen going fastest with a 1:11.852s on his first qualifying sim.
His effort was aided by a slipstream from Daniel Ricciardo down the front straight, dust and sand billowing from his car as the local favourite ran offline.
Alonso rose to second fastest with a time 0.2s off Verstappen’s.
A late mistake from Verstappen saw the Dutchman run off track at Turn 11, bouncing through the gravel but otherwise carrying on.
Alonso had been through the same gravel trap earlier, escaping anything beyond a bumpy ride before rejoining.
Those two ended the session fastest, ahead of Hamilton, then Perez, Albon, Lando Norris, Sargeant, Oscar Piastri, Yuki Tsunoda, and Esteban Ocon.
Ricciardo was 13th, while Charles Leclerc was the leading Ferrari in 16th, three places clear of Shwarztman.
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