F1 LIVE | The first free practice for the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix

The first free practice session, FP1, is about to get underway at Zandvoort. The 2023 Dutch Grand Prix marks the restart of the Formula 1 season following the sport's traditional summer break. This session will last for 60 minutes, and drivers will get to complete exploratory laps. You can follow all of the action from FP1 in the liveblog below.

Formula 1 resumes this weekend, and a Dutch party is expected. Max Verstappen was in fine form before the summer break, and Red Bull Racing are on a record-breaking run of wins. The rest of the F1 field is slowly catching up, but Verstappen is still the comfortable favourite for the weekend in Zandvoort. We will get the first suggestion of who are closest to Red Bull this weekend.

Ferrari's line-up will look slightly different during the first free practice session at Zandvoort. Carlos Sainz won't be in the SF-23. He will be replaced by Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman. He gets to prove himself for one hour at the very highest level of motorsport. Friday's first free practice session starts at 12:30pm [local time, 11:30am BST] and will last one hour.

Verstappen extended his lead in the World Championship last time out at the Belgian Grand Prix. With 25 points on Sunday, the Dutchman took his very healthy lead to 125 points. Sergio Perez secured much-needed points. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz could not take any points during the race in Belgium. McLaren have been on a sudden increase in performance, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri making big jumps in the championship due to multiple podiums. It'll be interesting to see whether that will continue in The Netherlands.