Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli finished ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in the initial practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix. Antonelli, who leads the championship, was 0.121 seconds quicker than Norris, who secured victory in the previous race in Hungary.
Antonelli's Mercedes team-mate George Russell was just 0.004 seconds behind Norris. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, currently 50 points behind the 19-year-old Antonelli in the championship standings, recorded the fourth fastest time, 0.190 seconds off the leading pace.
The new Honda engine in the Aston Martin showed promising signs, with Fernando Alonso placing 12th, 1.562 seconds slower than Antonelli. This performance suggests the new engine may be delivering the 0.3-0.5 seconds gain in lap time that Aston Martin had anticipated.
Several teams have introduced chassis upgrades for this race weekend. Ferrari has a new floor, while McLaren and Aston Martin have small aerodynamic upgrades. Alpine has also provided its first major upgrade in some time, exclusively for Pierre Gasly.