PRACTICE: Gademan goes fastest on home soil in disrupted Zandvoort opener

Nina Gademan went quickest in a disrupted Practice session at Zandvoort, which was brought to an early end by the second of two Red Flags.

The Alpine driver set a 1:38.729 to put herself and Dutch team MP Motorsport on top at their home circuit. Rafaela Ferreira finished just over a tenth behind in second, with Alba Larsen completing the top three.

With rain earlier in the day and cool track temperatures, drivers took their time getting up to speed around the tight and twisty Zandvoort circuit. Emma Felbermayr set the early benchmark with a 1:39.622, followed closely by Rodin Motorsport teammate Ella Lloyd on a 1:39.720.

Lisa Billard soon took over at the top with a 1:39.388, before Larsen became the first driver to break into the 1:38s. The Ferrari junior set a 1:38.858 with 23 minutes remaining.

Running was halted shortly afterwards when Ava Dobson ran wide at Turn 8 and onto the wet grass before making contact with the barrier at Turn 9, bringing out the first Red Flag.

Standings leader Alisha Palmowski was the only driver yet to set a lap time before the stoppage. Her wait was extended as light rain arrived, before the session eventually resumed with 12 minutes remaining.

As conditions quickly improved, Racing Bulls driver Ferreira moved to the top with a 1:38.840. Gademan responded two minutes later, setting a 1:38.729 to take P1 in front of her home crowd.

With five minutes remaining, Williams driver Jade Jacquet suffered a snap of oversteer at Turn 7 and spun off the circuit, narrowly avoiding Billard. The incident brought out the second Red Flag and the session was not resumed.

Gademan therefore held on to the top spot ahead of Ferreira and Larsen. Lloyd and Natalia Granada completed the top five, followed by Felbermayr, Billard, Rachel Robertson and Mathilda Paatz, with less than half a second separating the top nine. Palmowski recovered to round out the top 10.

The drivers will be back on track for Qualifying tomorrow morning 09:20 local time (UTC+2). Who will clinch pole position for the final time at Zandvoort?