In a thrilling display of speed and skill, Lando Norris has cemented his status as the one to watch, topping the charts in Free Practice 2 for the Dutch Grand Prix despite two significant red flags that disrupted the session.

Norris, who is currently in a tight race for the Drivers' Championship, trailing teammate Oscar Piastri by just nine points, delivered a stellar performance under challenging conditions. As dark clouds threatened rain, the drivers wasted no time hitting the Zandvoort Circuit, with Liam Lawson leading the pack out of the pit lane.

Having already shown his prowess by being fastest in FP1, Norris quickly asserted his dominance. He initially clocked a time of 1m 12.615s on medium tires, only to be briefly surpassed by Ferrari legends Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso as rain began to patter down.

But Norris answered back spectacularly, becoming the first driver to break the 1m 12s barrier with a blistering lap of 1m 11.294s. Lance Stroll was right behind him, while Alonso expressed frustration over team radio after being impeded by Kimi Antonelli.

Amidst the chaos, Haas' Oliver Bearman briefly took the lead with a solid 1m 11.113s, but the session came to a halt when Stroll crashed heavily at the banked Turn 3. Thankfully, he reported he was okay as his damaged Aston Martin was cleared.

The action picked back up, but not before more drama unfolded. Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar, who had been unable to leave the pits due to a pre-red flag technical issue, had to halt on his out-lap but was swiftly recovered under a Virtual Safety Car.

As the clock ticked down, the competition heated up. Nico Hulkenberg climbed to first with a hot lap of 1m 11.080s, just as Lewis Hamilton experienced another spin, this time a full 360-degree twirl exiting Turn 9 after setting the fastest opening sector.

With the sun breaking through the clouds, lap times plummeted. Alonso posted an eye-popping 1m 09.977s, only for Norris to outdo him again with a sensational 1m 09.890s—both on soft tires.

But the excitement wasn’t over! A second red flag was raised with just 21 minutes left on the clock when Alex Albon veered off at Turn 1, damaging his front wing and becoming stranded in the gravel.

The session eventually resumed with a diminished threat of rain, allowing drivers to concentrate on critical race simulations as the order remained relatively stable after the interruptions.

With the Dutch Grand Prix looming, all eyes will be on Norris as he seeks to maintain his momentum and stake his claim on the championship.