Rain, violent crash mar final practice for Dutch Grand Prix

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands: A fiery crash and driving rain marred the final practice for the Dutch Grand Prix Saturday, with many top contenders getting little track time before qualifying later in the day.

Pierre Gasly from Alpine clocked the fastest lap but teams will have learned little from the session which was reduced to 16 minutes after a crash by US driver Logan Sargeant.

Heavy rain had left the Zandvoort track treacherous and nearly every driver that ventured gingerly onto the track struggled to keep the car on the tarmac.

Fourteen minutes into the session and with several drivers already having spun off, Sargeant nearly totally destroyed his Williams in a high-speed crash.

Sargeant skidded on wet grass coming round a corner, spun violently, and careered side-on into the fence, the rear of his car quickly bursting into flames.

He jumped out and told his team he was not injured although the car was nearly completely wrecked. The session was stopped immediately as officials removed the smouldering husk.

By the time the debris had been cleared and safety fences repaired, there were only two minutes remaining in the hour-long practice session.

Most drivers headed out to get a feel for the track and Gasly turned in the best lap in 1 minute 20.311 seconds.

Home hero Max Verstappen had another frustrating session, receiving the black-and-white flag warning for unsportsman-like behaviour after illegally overtaking in the pit lane. Qualifying takes place at 3:00pm local time (1300 GMT) and appears to be wide open, with Mercedes and McLaren showing they have the pace to compete with Verstappen´s Red Bull.

George Russell went fastest in practice on Friday. In a strong showing from Mercedes his teammate and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was third.

Verstappen trailed in an unfamiliar fifth on Friday and complained the car was lacking pace and that "there isn´t a clear answer on how to improve this."

After winning 19 races on a cruise to the 2023 world championship, Verstappen took seven of the first 10 in 2024, leaving many fearing a similar procession this year.

But he has suffered a lean spell by his own standards, without a win in the last four races -- his longest winless stretch since 2020.

He nevertheless enjoys a 78-point lead in the drivers´ championship over closest rival Lando Norris, who has admitted he faces an uphill climb to overhaul the Dutchman.