Max fifth after Friday practice in Zandvoort: 'We still have the same problems'
Published on 29 August 2025 by Stefan Meens
Max Verstappen finished Friday practice of the Dutch Grand Prix in fifth place. Lando Norris was the quickest driver in FP2, followed by the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso. Norris’ McLaren team mate Oscar Piasti completed the top tree. Max’s Oracle Red Bull Racing team mate Yuki Tsunoda finished in seventh.
“We still have the same issues”, explained Max. “We tried a lot of things with the car, but it doesn’t change anything for the underlying problems.”
The four-time champ added: “We’ll check tonight if we can find anything, but I’m not expecting a big turnaround. The lay-out of the circuit also doesn’t really suit solving the problems we have in the car.”
Whereas FP1 was contested in the sunshine, the grey clouds have gathered around Zandvoort for the start of the second practice session of the weekend. The thread of rain is in the air as the session gets underway.
Liam Lawson is the first driver to hit the track. As he steers his Racing Bulls out of the garage, the rain appears to start, but never really persists, ultimately resulting in a fully dry session. Meanwhile, Max has bolted on a set of the hard Pirelli compound and clocks the fourth fastest time.
Fifteen minutes into FP2, the session is red-flagged for the first time; Lance Stroll has crashed his Aston Martin at the Hugenholtz corner. The AMR25 is heavily damaged, but the Canadian is thankfully not harmed.
After the marshals have swept the track and repaired the TecPro-barrier, the session is resumed, before a brief virtual safety car stops the proceedings again. This time, Isack Hadjar is the cause of the interruption after his VCARB has stopped in the middle of turn eight. After the Racing Bull is retrieved, the session continues in earnest with 30 minutes on the clock.
The second red flag of the session involves Alex Albon, who has beached his Williams in the gravel traps at Tarzan after out braking himself into the first turn. After a five-minute delay, the track is cleared with fifteen minutes to go in which nothing noteworthy happens. The times are not bettered as most drivers trundle around on the hard Pirellis, gathering data for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Contest Dutch GP: win a by Max Verstappen signed Red Bull Racing 2025 cap!
Results second free practice Netherlands:
pos | driver | team | time | laps | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lando Norris | NOR | McLaren | 1:09.890 | 27 |
2 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | Aston Martin | +0.087s | 19 |
3 | Oscar Piastri | PIA | McLaren | +0.089s | 28 |
4 | George Russell | RUS | Mercedes | +0.384s | 24 |
5 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing | +0.588s | 22 |
6 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Ferrari | +0.848s | 21 |
7 | Yuki Tsunoda | TSU | Red Bull Racing | +0.905s | 25 |
8 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Ferrari | +0.944s | 22 |
9 | Franco Colapinto | COL | Alpine | +1.067s | 25 |
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | HUL | Kick Sauber | +1.190s | 24 |
11 | Oliver Bearman | BEA | Haas | +1.223s | 25 |
12 | Kimi Antonelli | ANT | Mercedes | +1.295s | 20 |
13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BOR | Kick Sauber | +1.430s | 24 |
14 | Liam Lawson | LAW | Racing Bulls | +1.449s | 24 |
15 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Haas | +1.471s | 22 |
16 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Williams | +1.792s | 29 |
17 | Alexander Albon | ALB | Williams | +1.866s | 16 |
18 | Lance Stroll | STR | Aston Martin | +2.085s | 7 |
19 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | Alpine | +2.232s | 27 |
20 | Isack Hadjar | HAD | Racing Bulls | 1 |