Max Verstappen suffered an early blow to his Dutch Grand Prix chances after suffering a gearbox problem in the first free practice session of the weekend.
The Red Bull star managed just one hot lap before coming to a stop in the middle of the circuit. Smoke could be seen pouring out of the back of his car, and it wasn't long before the driver confirmed the source.
Verstappen jumped quickly onto team radio to inform his engineers that there was "something wrong with the gearbox". A virtual safety car was introduced, before that was quickly upgraded and the session red flagged.
Verstappen was the left to trudge back to the paddock while his car was recovered. The sight of the stricken Red Bull pulled over at the side of the track was a worrying one for the home fans, many of whom were stood up in silence.
While there are no points to be scored in practice, the problem is far from ideal for his weekend preparations. He will now miss out on crucial running time while his engineers fix the problem, giving his rivals an advantage at his home race.
Verstappen is very unlikely to face a penalty, though that could change depending upon the severity of the issue and parts need to be fixed or replaced. Red Bull confirmed it had been a transmission issue, and that they would further investigate the problem.
The Dutchman has dominated the championship so far and comes into this race weekend 93 points ahead of his nearest challenger, team-mate Sergio Perez. The gap between Verstappen and Charles Leclerc is now almost into three figures.
A victory at Zandvoort would only strengthen his grip on the championship. A successful title defence looks more and more likely with each passing race weekend, and victory in the Netherlands would be very well received by the adoring home crowd.
Verstappen will hope the issue can be identified and resolved quickly, so he can be back on track for FP2 and miss out on as little running time as possible.
