Kimi Antonelli absolutely nailed it on Friday at Zandvoort, setting the pace in the sole practice session of the sprint weekend. The Mercedes driver started in damp conditions but switched to slicks as the track dried out. He caught some traffic during the session but delivered a brilliant late run to grab top spot, clearly showing Mercedes isn't messing about this weekend.

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Lando Norris, fresh off his Hungarian Grand Prix victory, slotted into second position after piecing together a couple of strong warm-up laps. George Russell rounded out the Mercedes double act in third, while Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed the top five. Ferrari had spent chunks of the session leading the timesheets, proving they've brought some serious firepower to Zandvoort with their latest upgrades.

The real talking point was Audi's showing though. Both Nico Hulkenberg in seventh and Gabriel Bortoleto in ninth turned heads by setting their quick times on the medium compound, suggesting they might have something special for the sprint qualifying battles ahead. Oscar Piastri finished sixth for McLaren, neither quite delivering the performance either McLaren or Ferrari will have hoped for after bringing upgrades.

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Red Bull meanwhile had a weekend to forget. Max Verstappen languished down in eleventh, while Liam Lawson, stepping in for the injured Isack Hadjar, managed only 14th. It's a concerning start for the team, especially with Zandvoort being one of the final chapters at this historic circuit. The pace just wasn't there on Friday, and they'll need some serious work overnight to get back in the fight.

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The rest of the field had their moments scattered through the session, but all eyes will be on what sprint qualifying brings. With this being a penultimate sprint weekend of the year, the stakes are high, and Friday's running suggests we're in for a proper scrap between Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren come tomorrow.

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