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LEWIS HAMILTON TOPS DISRUPTED FP1 AT ZANDVOORT

LEWIS HAMILTON TOPS DISRUPTED FP1 AT ZANDVOORT

03-09-2021 11:15 Last update: 11:38
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Lewis Hamilton topped a red flag disrupted session as the teams got little time to collect data during the opening session at Zandvoort. Sebastian Vettel 's engine failure caused a huge disruption.

In a chaotic final six minutes the drivers piled in laps in order to salvage the session and it was Lewis Hamilton who topped the pack with a 1:11.500. The Mercedes looked strong through sectors two and three where as Max Verstappen looked good through sector one. However, the Dutchman at his home race could only manage P2 for the session. For a short time it looked like it would be a Merc one-two but the Red Bull split the Silver Arrows before Sainz ended up in third.

Engine failure for Vettel

The session was red flagged for 35 minutes with Sebastian Vettel's Aston Martin stricken on the side of the track after suffering an engine failure. After the stewards and team eventually got it moved only six minutes of the session remained and from then it was chaos. Times tumbled as the drivers looked to get as many laps in as possible. Ferrari went top with a one-two, and then Mercedes led but the top three eventually settled with Max Verstappen sandwiched between Hamilton and Sainz.

It was a frustrating session for the teams though as they would have been hoping to get as much data as possible.

Charles Leclerc was fourth with Bottas eventually finishing fifth. Fernando Alonso was sixth and Esteban Ocon (P7), Antonio Giovinazzi (P8), Lance Stroll (P9) and Pierre Gasly (P10) completed the top ten. 

Kimi Raikkonen finished 13th in his first session since announcing he will retire at the end of the season.