ZANDVOORT, Netherlands (AP) The Formula 1 title race is back and the tension is building.
Ahead of this weekends Dutch Grand Prix , the first race in four weeks, Oscar Piastri is just nine points ahead of his McLaren teammate and title rival Lando Norris, who won three of the last four races before the mid-season break.
Norris had the edge over Piastri in both of Fridays practice sessions, while Max Verstappen ended up in a gravel trap.
The intensity will naturally increase as we get closer to the end of the year, and Im ready for that, Piastri said Thursday.
The Australian has won praise for his ability to stay cool in his first season as a true title contender, but he acknowledged that the nerves are there, even if theyre not always obvious.
I dont believe anyone that says they dont get nervous because I dont think thats possible, and I think it would be a bit weird if you werent nervous, he said. Ultimately the nerves can be good or bad and its how you manage it that decides that. I think for me, being calm is part of who I am, but definitely Ive learned through the years that is how I get the most out of myself as well.
Norris fastest in practice
Despite the break, Norris remained F1s in-form driver as he went fastest in both practice sessions.
Norris beat Piastri by 0.292 of a second in the first session, with the Australian second and Lance Stroll third for Aston Martin. Incidents including two red flags limited the second session but Norris was still top by .087 from Aston Martins Fernando Alonso, with Piastri .002 further back in third.
Verstappens home race got off to a bad start as the four-time champion ended the first practice stuck in the gravel in bizarre circumstances, sliding off the track at the first corner after attempting a practice start. He was sixth fastest in the first session and fifth in the second.
Lewis Hamilton span his Ferrari twice, once in each session, while Kimi Antonelli caused a red flag in the first session when he was beached in the gravel after skidding off in his Mercedes.
The second session was stopped when Stroll crashed into the wall, then again when Williams Alex Albon bumped a barrier and beached his car while trying to reverse out. Isack Hadjars Racing Bulls car also broke down.
Keeping the papaya rules simple
A slow start actually ended up helping Norris win the last race in Hungary . He had to take a gamble on his strategy and hit the jackpot by stopping once, instead of twice, to get ahead on track and then hold off his teammate on old tires.
That prompted questions of how the situation fit McLarens stated aim of letting its drivers race each other for the title. Typically, the driver in the lead would get the preference on strategy.
Maybe it wasnt a perfect harmonic race between us as a team because it didnt fall exactly into the place with what we normally go by, Norris said. Its an example of what can happen in racing sometimes. I think we both want, as drivers, things not to be overly strict. We dont want to be told not to race.
Piastri also favored keeping things simple and not letting McLarens papaya rules get too complicated.
Ultimately there are race situations where being the second car from the team on track ... youve got a lot less to lose, Piastri said. I think it would be unfair to neutralize that just because of wanting to be on the same strategy.
Verstappen looks for rain chaos
Verstappen says the Dutch crowd definitely brings a smile on my face when Im driving, but his title defense hasnt given him much else to smile about.
Verstappen is the best of the non-McLaren drivers but theres still a gulf of 97 points separating him from Piastri. The Dutch driver said Thursday his aim is just to try to make the best of it for the rest of 2025 and that he doesnt have any real target in the standings.
Verstappen won the last wet race at Zandvoort in 2023 and his best hope of a fourth career win at his home GP might be the chance of rain affecting Saturdays qualifying and Sundays race.
That always creates a bit of chaos, so we just need to see what happens, he said.
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AP auto racing:
荷兰赞德沃特（美联社）——一级方程式（F1）冠军争夺战重燃战火，紧张气氛持续升温。
在本周末的荷兰大奖赛（这是四周以来的首场比赛）前夕，奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里仅领先迈凯伦队友兼冠军竞争对手兰多·诺里斯9个积分。诺里斯在赛季中期休赛前的最后四场比赛中赢得了三场胜利。
诺里斯在周五的两节练习赛中均领先皮亚斯特里，而马克斯·维斯塔潘则因赛车冲出赛道陷入砂石区。
皮亚斯特里周四表示：“随着年底临近，工作强度自然会增加，对此我已做好准备。”
这位澳大利亚选手在首个真正冲击冠军的赛季中，因冷静沉着的表现赢得赞誉，但他坦言紧张感依然存在，尽管并不总是显露出来。
他表示："我不相信有人声称自己从不紧张，因为我认为这根本不可能。如果你不紧张，反而会显得有点奇怪。" "归根结底，紧张情绪本身并无好坏之分，关键看你如何应对。对我而言，保持冷静是天性的一部分，但这些年我确实领悟到，这也是我能最大限度发挥自身潜能的要诀。"
诺里斯在练习赛中创下最快圈速
尽管经历了短暂休整，诺里斯仍是F1当前状态最火热的车手——他在两次练习赛中均跑出了最快圈速。
在第一阶段练习赛中，诺里斯以0.292秒的优势领先皮亚斯特里，澳大利亚车手皮亚斯特里位列第二，阿斯顿·马丁车队的兰斯·斯托尔排名第三。第二阶段练习赛因两次红旗中断而缩短，但诺里斯仍以0.087秒的优势力压阿斯顿·马丁车手费尔南多·阿隆索占据榜首，皮亚斯特里以0.002秒之差位居第三。
维斯塔潘的主场赛事开局不利，这位四届世界冠军在首次练习赛中遭遇离奇事故——尝试练习起步后，他在第一个弯道滑出赛道，陷入砂石区无法动弹。他在第一节练习赛排名第六，第二节位列第五。
刘易斯·汉密尔顿驾驶法拉利赛车两次打滑，两次练习赛各发生一次；而基米·安东内利在首次练习赛中驾驶梅赛德斯赛车失控滑出赛道，陷入砂石区引发红旗中断。
第二节练习赛因斯特罗尔撞墙而中断，随后威廉姆斯车队的**亚历克斯·阿尔本**在试图倒车脱困时又撞上护墙导致赛车搁浅。**伊萨克·哈贾尔**的Racing Bulls赛车也发生了故障。
让“木瓜规则”保持简单
诺里斯在匈牙利站的比赛中虽起步缓慢，却因此因祸得福最终夺冠。他不得不孤注一掷改变策略，通过仅进站一次（而非原计划的两次）的赌博式战术抢占赛道位置，最终凭借磨损严重的旧轮胎成功阻挡了队友的追击。
这引发了质疑：当前局面如何与迈凯伦宣称的‘允许车手为冠军相互竞争’目标相符？按照惯例，领跑车手应在策略上享有优先权。
诺里斯表示："或许这次我们车队之间的配合并非完美无间，因为它与我们惯常的节奏并不完全吻合。这正是赛车运动中偶尔会出现的情况。作为车手，我们都希望规则不要过于严苛。没人愿意被告知禁止竞速。"
皮亚斯特里同样倾向于保持简约风格，避免让迈凯伦的“木瓜橙规则”变得过于复杂。
皮亚斯特里表示："在某些比赛情况下，作为车队在赛道上的第二辆车……你的损失风险会小很多。我认为，仅仅因为想要采用相同的策略就抹平这种优势是不公平的。"
维斯塔潘期待雨天带来「混乱」战局
维斯塔潘表示，荷兰观众"绝对会在我驾驶时让我露出笑容"，但他在卫冕之路上却鲜有其他值得开心的事。
维斯塔潘是非迈凯伦车手中表现最出色的，但他与皮亚斯特里之间仍有97分的巨大差距。这位荷兰车手周四表示，他在2025年剩余时间的目标是“尽力做到最好”，并称自己对排名没有具体目标。
维斯塔潘在2023年赞德沃特雨战中夺冠，若本周六排位赛和周日的正赛遭遇降雨，或许将是他主场第四次夺冠的最佳机会。
他说：“这总会引发一些混乱，所以我们只能静观其变。”
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