Formula One: Dutch Grand Prix – live | Formula One

Lap 11/72 Gasly and Sainz are locked alongside one another, but the former finds a way past and now sits seventh!

Lap 10/72 Nice from Hamilton, who slides past Hulkenberg on the inside but knows he’s too slow, advising his team of an issue also self-evident given how long it took him to move from 12th to 11th.

Lap 9/72 Norris was asked by his team who he thinks they’re racing – Verstappen in first of Russell in third – and in comms, they can’t grasp why they’re not deciding that for him, given their superior access to information.

Lap 8/72 Norris now trails Verstappen by 1.40s but the McLaren has the pace to challenge – in theory. In practise, how does anyone get by the champ?

Lap 7/72 Verstappen continues building as Magnussen, who started from the pit lane, finds himself sliding off the track.

1. Verstappen

2. Norris

3. Russell

4. Piastri

5. Leclerc

6. Perez

7. Gasly

8. Alonso

9. Sainz

10. Stroll

11. Hulkenberg

12. Hamilton

13. Tsunoda

14. Bottas

15. Ricciardo

16. Ocon

17. Albon

18. Sargeant

19. Magnussen

20. Zhou

Lap 6/72 Verstappen maintains his lead, now at 1.328s, and we see the start again – reaction times are identical but Norris’ wheels spin as the Red bull cuts across into the centre of the track and frankly, that was too easy.

Lap 5/72 Russell, third, 0.850s in front of Piastri, is allowing Leclerc and Perez to close on fourth spot. Piastri will be raging he was passed off the start.

Lap 4/72 Perez goes at Leclerc, the gap between fifth and sixth 0.870s; Leclerc holds on.

Lap 3/72 Verstappen now leads by 1.709s and does this already feel like a definitive lead? He’s well out of DRS range, and having led for 186 out of the 211 laps he’d raced on this circuit before today, he’ll feel confident of seeing this out.

Lap 2/72 Gasly also started well, up from 10th to 7th, while Perez is down from fifth to sixth … and Hamilton moves past Tsunoda into 12th!

1. Verstappen

2. Norris

3. Russell

4. Piastri

5. Leclerc

6. Perez

7. Gasly

8. Alonso

Lap 1/72 Ahahahaha! Verstappen diddles Norris off the start, burning in front as his rival’s wheels spin, and Russell nips in front of Piastri too! Dreadful start for McLaren!

…lights out and away we go!

And we’re set…

Our formation lap is under way.

It’s a hot atmosphere, with a lot of orange. Hamilton will start on softs, so is presumably following a two-stop strategy.

Our race will be over 72 laps, each with two DRS zones.

Norris thinks he’s got good plans but won’t reveal what they are. Not long till we find out!

Verstappen thinks it’ll be a difficult race in which it’s tricky to pass Norris, but he’s mainly concerned about his own pace.

Apparently it’s the oldest anthem in operation, dating back to 1626.

Anthem time! A youth clad in all black, overcoat and baggy trouser included, sings along.

Brundle corners Horner, who thinks Red Bull can win but that the wind will be a factor. My sense is he’s confident…

Just live for you…

Jack Doohan, son of motorbike champ Mick Doohan, takes over from Ocon at Alpine next term, and he tells Martin Brundle that he’s honoured to be selected, citing his dad as his inspiration. He seems a good boy.

Logan Sargeant is happy following a big turnaround last night – he crashed his car yesterday, which then caught fire. His team couldn’t repair it; he’ll start from the back of the grid.

Lewis Hamilton, by the way.

There was huge disappointment, too, for Lewis Hamilton who was knocked out in Q2 and finished in 12th place. On his final lap, Hamilton had a very poor first sector, struggling with tyre temperature that proved costly and he dropped three-tenths. It was a deficit he could not overcome and was enough to push him out of the top 10. Worse was to follow, however, when he was given a three-place grid penalty almost four hours after qualifying, for impeding Sergio Pérez during the session, relegating the British driver to 14th after Alex Albon was dropped from eighth to 20th. George Russell was in fourth with Red Bull’s Pérez in fifth.

Worth your time:

The corners on this course are pretty steeply banked, which should give drivers a fun challenge. It might help them generate pace before overtaking, but that remains to be seen.

Two stops or one? It’s not clear what we’ll see today, nor which tyres will work best. If Verstappen gets in front early, it might not matter – or at least it might not be relevant as regards who wins the race. But if Norris keeps ahead, the tactical battle could well be crucial.

Get in the mood:

Also going on:

Ave a word wiv im!

Verstappen tells Sky it’s great to see the support he has, which puts a big smile on his face … and, er, that’s it. Great stuff!

Fair dos, this looks exceedingly comfy.

Back to our race, Verstappen has won his home race the last three times it’s been held. He’s under pressure to do so again, but expectation can be self-fulfilling.

Every time I see the name Esteban, I think of this legend.

The grid

Preamble