Lewis Hamilton collapses at Dutch Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc sprints

[ad_1]

Audio and text coverage of the Dutch Grand Prix live on BBC Sport

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led one to two in second practice for the Dutch Grand Prix while Lewis Hamilton missed most of the session with an engine problem.

Hamilton’s Mercedes came to a halt on the track after he made only one lap. It is ranked 11th.

Leclerc headed his teammate Carlos Sainz by 0.154 seconds.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon finished third, ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso in the Alps.

Seven-time champion Hamilton’s problem was the second Mercedes-powered car trouble today, after Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel caused a 40-minute pit stop in the first session when he pulled over at the exit from the pit lane.

The car remained by the track where Hamilton had stopped, so he was unable to resume the session.

Verstappen’s true competitiveness on one lap was hidden because there were two red flags during the session, one for Hamilton and one when Haas driver Nikita Mazepin set off on chicane, both of which happened when the Dutchman was on a flying lap.

“It’s crazy,” Verstappen said on the radio after the Mazepine incident. “I just can’t get a hug, man.”

In all, about 15 minutes of running was lost from the session to the two crashes.

This meant that Verstappen’s fastest time – just over 0.3 seconds off the pace – was set on tires already well past their best.

But the Red Bull driver seemed very fast in the race simulation that takes place later in the session when the drivers are on full fuel loads.

It was comfortably faster than Bottas with both drivers on the soft tyre, but direct comparisons are not available because it is not known what engine positions the two cars were in.

Ocon and Alpine looked impressive throughout the day, as the Frenchman was fast on both the short and long distances. His teammate Alonso was just over 0.2sec behind.

Pierre Gasly of Alfa Touri, Lando Norris of McLaren, Antonio Giovinazzi and Vettel of Alfa Romeo finished the top ten.

Alpha’s Kimi Raikkonen, who announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, was 16th and George Russell 20th and last.

Over 70,000 fans will support Verstappen every day during the race weekend, the rink by the beach – many fans have arrived with the bike

[ad_2]