Mercedes no longer have the fastest car in F1, says leader Antonelli

Kimi Antonelli, currently leading the Formula One championship, set the fastest time during the second practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday at the Zandvoort circuit. The 20-year-old Italian finished with a best time of one minute 12.949 seconds, just ahead of McLaren's reigning champion Lando Norris, who was 0.121 seconds slower.

McLaren is aiming for a third consecutive Dutch GP victory. The weekend features a sprint format, with qualifying for Saturday's 100km points race happening earlier in the day. Antonelli's Mercedes teammate George Russell was third fastest, while the closest championship challenger Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari was fourth. Hamilton trails Antonelli by 50 points after 11 rounds of the season.

After a spin with 30 minutes remaining, Antonelli finished fourth overall. Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari's main rival Alpine, was fifth, followed by Oscar Piastri for McLaren, and Nico Hulkenberg for Audi. Pierre Gasly of Alpine rounded out the top ten. Max Verstappen, the home hero and four-time world champion, struggled with oversteer and ended up eleventh.

Red Bull teammate Liam Lawson, filling in for injured driver Isack Hadjar, placed fourteenth. Other notable performances included Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin in twelfth, Lance Stroll in eighteen, and temporary Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda in seventeen.