Charles Leclerc topped the times ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz as Ferrari spoiled the party in second practice for a huge crowd of local fans at the Dutch Grand Prix yesterday. Expecting to celebrate the homecoming of Max Verstappen for the first time since he won the world championship last year, the fans were treated to a Ferrari revival ahead of third-placed Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes. Red Bull’s runaway leader of this year’s title race was down in eighth after a troubled day that saw him pull up with a gearbox failure in opening practice topped by the two Mercedes. Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes, who was fastest in the first session, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Alpine’s two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. Esteban Ocon was ninth in the second Alpine and Daniel Ricciardo 10th in the second McLaren. The session began in near-perfect mild conditions under a cloudless sky with Stroll leading the pack out of the pitlane in his Aston Martin. Verstappen, who had missed much of the opening practice following a gearbox failure, was soon on the pace and on top of the times on soft tyres in 1:13. 456. Sainz trimmed that to take over after 15 minutes with Leclerc slotting in behind him in second before the Spaniard trimmed his time to 1:12. 349 to move a full second clear. Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton all improved, but took second place until Leclerc clocked 1:12. 345 to pip his team-mate as Ferrari went one-two ahead of Hamilton. This was hardly what the sell-out crowd of 105,000 fans, most from the local ‘orange army’ had wanted and their frustration remained as Verstappen was back in the pits again. Piastri to replace Ricciardo at McLaren from 2023 Much attention in the paddock was being paid to the ruling of the FIA Contracts Recogntiion Board (CRB) hearing on the future of Australian driver Oscar Piastri in favour of McLaren. McLaren confirmed he would succeed Daniel Ricciardo and race as team-mate to Lando Norris for 2023 and 2034. The 21-year-old had been caught up in a fight between Alpine and McLaren with the former claiming Piastri had a contract to drive for them and even announcing him as part of their 2023 line-up. Piastri forced them into an embarrassing u-turn hours afterwards when he said he had no such arrangement with them. However, a FIA arbitration panel judged in McLaren’s favour. “I’m extremely excited to be making my F1 debut with such a prestigious team as McLaren and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that’s been offered to me,” said Piastri in a McLaren statement on their website. “The team has a long tradition of giving young talent a chance, and I’m looking forward to working hard alongside Lando (Norris) to push the team towards the front of the grid. ” McLaren were delighted at the outcome and securing the 2021 F2 champion. “Oscar is one of the up-and-coming talents coming through the feeder series into F1 and we are delighted to see him join the team for 2023,” said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. “Winning both F3 and F2 in successive rookie seasons is a real achievement and testament to his talent in single-seater racing. “In Lando and Oscar we have a young, exciting F1 line-up with a huge amount of potential, standing us in good stead to achieve our future ambitions. ”  Alpine released a curt statement. “Alpine F1 Team thanks the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) for convening on Monday and we acknowledge the decision they have made,” read the statement. “We consider the matter closed on our side and will announce our full 2023 driver line-up in due course. Our immediate focus is the Dutch Grand Prix and securing points in our fight for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. ” The dispute began in the wake of Aston Martin’s recruitment of two-time champion Fernando Alonso from Alpine to succeed retirement-bound four-time champion Sebastian Vettel next season. .