Antonelli tops Dutch GP first practice, Norris second as Hamilton fourth

Kimi Antonelli led first practice at the Dutch Grand Prix on 21 August 2026, setting a time 0.121 seconds quicker than McLaren's Lando Norris. Antonelli leads Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' championship by 50 points.

Norris, the winner of the last race in Hungary before the summer break, was pipped by Antonelli with Mercedes team-mate George Russell a further 0.004secs adrift. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, 50 points behind the 19-year-old Antonelli, was fourth fastest and 0.190secs off the pace, with Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri completing the top six.

Aston Martin's car fitted with the new Honda engine produced a noticeably improved lap, Fernando Alonso finishing the session 12th and 1.562secs down. That appears at first sight to suggest the new engine is providing the 0.3-0.5secs gain in lap time for which Aston Martin had been hoping.

If confirmed, the step forward still leaves Honda some way short of the performance of the best engines, the company itself admits, although it represents progress from the first iteration of the power unit Aston Martin have used until now. Signs Honda are on the right track are what Alonso has been looking for as he ponders whether to stay in the sport beyond the end of the season.

Audi's Nico Hulkenberg was seventh and was the fastest driver who did not use the soft tyres, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly eighth, the second Audi of Gabriel Bortoleto ninth and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad tenth. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was only 11th, while Liam Lawson — promoted from Racing Bulls after regular driver Isack Hadjar broke his wrist while boxing — was 14th.

Several teams have brought chassis and aerodynamic upgrades for this race weekend. Ferrari introduced a new floor aimed at delivering the potential they showed in Hungary but lost through strategy and operational errors; at Alpine only Gasly received the team's first major upgrade for some time; McLaren added small changes around the rear bodywork and wing; and Aston Martin brought a revised front wing.

Those updates have been brought specifically for this race weekend and will form part of teams' running and evaluation across the remainder of the Dutch Grand Prix event.