Alonso was the exception, starting on the medium tyre, rather than the hard compound used by everybody else. The opening stages saw both Haas cars go through the gravel trap at Turn 12.
Then, 11 minutes in and while heading the timesheet with a 1min 14.714sec lap, Verstappen slowly came to a stop at Turn 3 with smoke coming out of his engine.
Red Bull had replaced a part in his gearbox ahead of the session and he radioed in an issue with the transmission before being told to stop.
The session was red-flagged to recover the stranded car and the session resumed with 40 minutes left.
Most drivers switched to the soft tyre, which saw lap times tumble by almost two seconds. Sainz went to the top with a 1min 12.845sec lap, while his team-mate remained on the hard compound and remained towards the bottom.
Both McLaren drivers, as well as Alonso and Perez were within a second of Sainz, despite Ricciardo becoming the third driver in FP1 to go through the gravel trap at Turn 12.
Traffic at the short, tight circuit proved troublesome throughout the session; a slow-moving Hamilton delayed Kevin Magnussen and Leclerc, who both complained on the radio — in a calmer manner than Alonso at Spa.
Leclerc finally went onto the soft compound in the final 25 minutes, with his first lap time on the tyre putting him fourth – almost three-tenths off Sainz.
The Mercedes drivers then switched to soft tyres and Russell moved to the top of the timesheet with his second lap on the compound setting a 1min 12.455sec time.
That was not to be beaten for the rest of the session, although Hamilton came closest in the final 10 minutes.
There was also a late bit of drama as Norris almost went into the back of a slow Sebastian Vettel at Turn 3, before diving down the inside at the following corner.
They both came to a close collision again. “Is this guy silly?” Norris asked over the radio.
The incident has since been noted by the stewards for impeding.
🏁 FP1 CLASSIFICATION 🏁
It's a one-two for @MercedesAMGF1 👀@OconEsteban and @NicholasLatifi record the most laps 📈#DutchGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/SGzba7foaG
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2022
2022 Dutch GP FP2 report
After missing most of FP1, Verstappen set the early pace in second practice with a 1min 13.465sec lap on the soft tyre.
Behind him were both Ferraris on the medium compound, with Sainz less than a tenth off the world champion and Leclerc a bit further behind.