George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 in the first practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday, while home hero Max Verstappen of Red Bull abandoned the session due to car issues.
Russell clocked 1 minute 12.455 seconds around the 4.259-kilometre Circuit Zandvoort ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was 0.240 second behind.
Carlos Sainz of Ferrari was third, while team-mate Charles Leclerc was only sixth, behind the two McLaren cars of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo respectively.
World champion and season leader Verstappen, meanwhile, was forced to abandon the session after less than 15 minutes of track action after his car stopped just before Turn 3.
The driver reported problems with the gearbox and the session was suspended for a few minutes so the car could be removed from the track.
According to a first assessment at the garage, seems like Verstappen had a transmission issue.
In the other Red Bull, Sergio Perez finished seventh. Mick Schumacher of Haas was 11th, while his German countryman Sebastian Vettel was 15th in the Aston Martin.
Verstappen leads the championship with 284 points, 93 more than Perez.
Second practice is later on Friday, with qualifying on Saturday ahead of the race on Sunday.
