The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend in Imola is about to start and we kick off with the first free practice session. The Friday practice sessions this season are all one hour long, rather than the 90-minute editions in previous seasons. During this session, we will get a small idea about who is looking strong in Imola. Have Mercedes improved their car over the three-week break, or is Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing still fastest on the circuit?
Liveblog - FP1
The battle continues
In Bahrain, Verstappen was dominant in all free practices. In qualifying the 23-year-old from Limburg was also the best, but when it came to dividing the points on Sunday Lewis Hamilton came out on top. Verstappen will do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen again this weekend.
The circuit this weekend is slightly more technical, which could help Red Bull Racing further. The 2021 Mercedes car was struggling on corner exits in pre-season testing and the first Grand Prix weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit.
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The Dutch Red Bull driver's best ever result in Italy is fifth. Last year he recorded three DNF's at Mugello, Monza and Imola. It is to be hoped that Verstappen will fare better in 2021. In 2020 at Imola, Verstappen suffered a blowout that ruined a sure second place.
Midfield battle
Behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, a battle for third place is developing well. The two front-runners in Bahrain were McLaren and Ferrari, though it's expected that AlphaTauri might be able to challenge those two teams more.
McLaren and Ferrari had many battles at Imola when this race was known as the San Marino Grand Prix. Will Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo be renewing the rivalry this season with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz? Everything will become clearer this weekend!
The first free practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari starts at 10:00am and can be followed live via GPblog's live blog above.