Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli led the way in the first practice session at the Dutch Grand Prix, finishing just 0.121 seconds ahead of Lando Norris from McLaren. Antonelli, the championship leader, showcased his speed after winning the last race in Hungary before the summer break.

Key Highlights:

• Antonelli: Fastest with a time that edged out Norris.
• George Russell, Antonelli's teammate, finished just 0.004 seconds behind Norris.
• Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari placed fourth, 0.190 seconds off the pace, trailing Antonelli by 50 points in the championship standings.
• The top six were rounded out by Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.

In a notable performance, Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin ranked 12th, indicating that the new Honda engine might be delivering the anticipated 0.3-0.5 seconds gain in lap time. While this shows progress, Honda acknowledges they still lag behind the top-performing engines.

Among others, Nico Hulkenberg of Audi secured seventh without using soft tyres, and Pierre Gasly from Alpine completed the top ten.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull could only manage 11th, while teammate Liam Lawson, who stepped in for the injured Isack Hadjar, finished 14th.

Several teams, including Ferrari and McLaren, introduced chassis upgrades, with Ferrari aiming to capitalize on their potential shown in Hungary, which was previously squandered by strategic errors.