Lando Norris names shock No1 challenger to McLaren at F1 Dutch Grand Prix

Lando Norris says McLaren’s Formula 1 rivals are closer than he would like at the Dutch Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso showing strong pace in the Aston Martin.

Norris topped both practice sessions on Friday as F1 returned after the summer shutdown, but two-time champion Alonso managed to split the two McLarens in second.

More worryingly, the Spaniard was able to lap within a tenth of Norris, while Mercedes’ George Russell finished just 0.0387s adrift in fourth.

Norris was satisfied with how McLaren performed at Zandvoort on Friday, but admitted that his rivals’ pace was a cause of concern.

“Today was a good day,” he told Sky TV. “You get back into things quite quickly, so it doesn't take too long, but I think that the car was handling well.

“I felt like we made some good improvements from FP1 to FP2, but at the same time, it seemed like the others caught up a bit more than what we would like.

“Aston and Fernando, they were quick in FP1 and FP2  - and have been [quick] recently.  A good start, but certainly a bit closer than what we would like for the time being.”

Aston Martin recorded its best result of the year in Hungary last time out, with Alonso finishing a strong fifth and teammate Lance Stroll following him in seventh.

As such, Friday’s result suggested that Aston Martin’s performance at the Hungaroring was no fluke and the Silverstone-based squad has made a genuine step forward.

Asked who will be McLaren’s main opposition at Zandvoort, Norris said: “The Astons, they're never that far off in FP2. They quite often and quite consistently are actually quite decent in FP2, and they've certainly been getting better.

“Even in Budapest, they were pretty, they're pretty quick as well. So it's not a big surprise. At the minute, they look like the quickest, but Max [Verstappen] is certainly not far off. He was on a harder tyre, which is not quite as good.

“I think the Astons, the Red Bulls [are our main rivals]. Ferraris seem to struggle a little bit today, but they are normally always like that and then fine on Saturday.”

Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri ended the day in third place, just two thousandths of a second adrift of Alonso’s Aston Martin.

The Australian believes a clear pecking order won’t emerge until qualifying on Saturday.

“Honestly, I have no idea [who is our main competition] at this point,” he said. “I need to look back and see who actually finished where in FP2. 

“Obviously, a bit surprising to see the Astons up there today, but they were quick in Budapest.

“Today's been a bit strange. I think everyone didn't really know whether to use the tyres when they definitely knew it was going to be dry. Or did you wait a little bit longer, did you take some fuel out. 

“There are a lot of things that were quite as you would normally expect today, so tomorrow will be the only time we'll see where everyone's really at.”