By Megan Wellens and Emma Thurston

Last Updated: 02/09/22 6:06 PM Charles Leclerc led the second practice session of the day as Max Verstappen struggled to find speed in his Red Bull.
Charles Leclerc set the pace in practice two for the Dutch GP as Ferrari overtook Lewis Hamilton, while Max Verstappen’s difficult start at home to the Zandvoort weekend continued. The Oscar Piastri contract decision dominated the early discussions of the session, with the Contract Recognition Board ruling unanimously in favor of McLaren and Piastri, but Leclerc stormed to the front of the pack on track. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Oscar Piastri will race for McLaren in F1 next season after Alpine lost its appeal to the FIA ​​Driver Contracts Recognition Board
Oscar Piastri will race for McLaren in F1 next season after Alpine lost its appeal to the FIA ​​Driver Contracts Recognition Board Leclerc’s lap of 1:12.345 ensured he topped the grid on Friday night, closely followed by teammate Carlos Sainz (+0.004s), with Ferrari looking much more competitive than last weekend in Belgium. Mercedes also continued to find speed in a more favorable setup with Hamilton 0.072s into third and George Russell just three tenths off the pace. McLaren’s Lando Norris separated the two Mercedes drivers. Indeed, the improvement in the car brought some cautious hope for Hamilton who believe the Zandvoort circuit could be the “sweet spot” for their W13. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Lewis Hamilton is pleased with the progress Mercedes showed in Friday practice at Circuit Zandvoort after a difficult spell last week in Belgium
Lewis Hamilton is pleased with the progress Mercedes showed in Friday practice at Circuit Zandvoort after a difficult spell last week in Belgium “It’s been a decent start to the weekend, we’ve landed in a sweet spot with the car, just because it’s a very different track,” said Hamilton. “It’s a work in progress. We’re not that far behind which is great to see and the car doesn’t feel that bad so we just have to keep pulling away.” After gearbox problems saw Verstappen’s first practice end early after just 10 minutes, he struggled to find speed on his home track in the second session, finishing eighth. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez couldn’t deal with his RB18 either and finished 12th on the time sheet, giving the team plenty to think about overnight. Daniel Riccardo’s second practice session ended 10 minutes early due to an oil leak from his car’s radiator and, shortly after, Yuki Tsunoda’s off-track trip left his car in the gravel and brought out a red flag. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player Yuki Tsunoda ran off the track and into the gravel during the closing stages of the session
Yuki Tsunoda ran off the track and into the gravel during the closing stages of the session “It’s great to see such a close pack and normally they are here around a short circuit,” said Sky specialist Jenson Button after the second practice of the weekend. “We have the two Ferraris, Mercedes and McLaren who seem to be fighting for pole position. “It’s a bit of a surprise [with Red Bull], didn’t they take the round together? Perez is another half a second behind him [Verstappen]so I think they’re struggling for a bit of balance.”

Dutch GP two practice time sheet

                Team Time 1) Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:12.345 2) Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.004 3) Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.072 4) Lando Norris McLaren +0.103 5) George Russell Mercedes +0.310 6) Lance +0 Ferrando 0.004 Alonso Alpine +0.503 8) Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.697 9) Esteban Ocon Alpine +0.960 10) Daniel Ricciardo McLaren +1.017 11) Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri +1.074 12) Sergio +131311 Red Bull.  Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin +1,266 15) Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo +1,279 16) Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri +1,321 17) Alex Albon Williams +1,492 18) Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo +1,822) Javinia 4,200,000.                                                                                                                                                             
            Verstappen had a disruption in the first session and finished P8 in the afternoon session

Verstappen did not shy away from the fact that the opening day at his track was not ideal. “It wasn’t great today but we’ll have the night to look at things and we can definitely do better than that,” said the Red Bull driver. “To be honest, when I drove it I wasn’t surprised to see the lap time difference, so there are a lot of things we can improve on. “We have all night to see things and P3, so we will try to be more competitive.”