The China Mail - Norris sets early pace at Dutch Grand Prix practice

The British driver registered the fastest lap in the second session at Zandvoort, clocking one minute 9.890 seconds, 0.087 seconds ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Championship leader and teammate Oscar Piastri was only 0.002 seconds behind Alonso, with McLaren again showing they are the team to beat at the Dutch GP.

The deluge of rain for the second session failed to materialise but even in the dry, several mishaps and interruptions marred the action.

First Aston Martin's Lance Stroll locked up at high speed and smashed into the fence, destroying the front wing of his car and stopping the session as the debris was cleared.

When practice resumed 11 minutes later, Isack Hadjar lost power and had to retire, causing another delay as the virtual safety car was deployed.

Alex Albon from Williams was next into the gravel, his front tyres locking up completely out of the straight.

Home favourite Max Verstappen found himself in fifth place, after himself beaching his Red Bull in the gravel during the first hour-long practice run.

Earlier Friday, Norris had held off Piastri to top the first practice session, with a lap of one minute 10.278 seconds, 0.292 seconds ahead of the Australian.

That first session stayed dry but windy and many drivers struggled to keep their cars on the track.

Ferrari had a disappointing first practice, with Charles Leclerc and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton coming 14th and 15th respectively.

"We are miles off, like miles off" the pace, complained a disgruntled Leclerc on team radio.

- 'Completely useless' -

One of the main talking points in the run-up to the Dutch GP has been the mood of Hamilton, whose high-profile move from Mercedes to Ferrari has not run smoothly.

Hamilton described himself as "completely useless" and said Ferrari should find a better driver after another disappointing finish in Hungary at the last GP.

The three-week summer break seemed to have lifted his spirits and he told reporters he wanted to rediscover the "fun" in Formula One from now on.

But his first practice run was anything but fun as he endured a full 360-degree spin, complaining of "flat spots all round" on the team radio.

Another full spin marred his second practice session but he ended up in sixth place.

McLaren are looking to tighten their grip on the constructors race as their two drivers battle it out for the World Championship.

Piastri is only nine points ahead of Norris with 10 races to go, with all eyes on whether the two teammates will be allowed to race competitively as the business end of the season approaches.

Verstappen finds himself in the unfamilar territory of third overall, nearly 100 points adrift of Piastri.

He will be hoping the famously unpredictable weather in Zandvoort -- a stone's throw from the North Sea beach -- will come to his rescue.

Rain is forecast for all three days of the racing weekend, potentially sparking "chaos", according to Verstappen, who excels in wet weather conditions.

G.Fung--ThChM