It’s like we’ve never been away. After four weeks of sand, sea, and relaxation, Formula 1’s travelling circus weaned itself off the more sibilant elements of the summer with a trip to Zandvoort. And the clues in the name, if you translate it from Dutch: there’s sand…and there’s sea.

And as FP1 ticked into its final moments, the drivers’ post-holiday blues might have been exacerbated by the ominous time gap between themselves and the McLaren duo at the top of the timesheets. Just four non-McLaren drivers found themselves in the same second as Norris’ first-practice headliner: Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso (as Aston Martin looked once again handy in a high-downforce environment), Alex Albon, and Max Verstappen.  

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