F1 LIVE | The second free practice session ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

The first free practice session for the Imola Grand Prix is over, but we immediately move on to the second practice session on Friday. The battle seems to be between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing once again, so we are curious to see how both teams perform in the long runs this afternoon.

Liveblog - FP2

Time for long-runs

Where FP1 is always about the first introduction and the basic set-up work, the second free practice is always a moment for the racing teams to occupy themselves with the long runs. However, with practice sessions now half an hour shorter, it will be almost impossible for the teams to run a race simulation on all three compounds. It is expected that only long runs on softs and mediums will be made.

The race distance that will be covered on Sunday is 309.049 kilometres. The circuit of Imola is 4.909 kilometres long and will contain 63 laps. The Grand Prix itself will start at 14:00hrs on Sunday. 

Last season it was Lewis Hamilton who won. Max Verstappen crashed out with a burst tyre and missed out on a good result. Daniel Ricciardo took advantage and grabbed his second podium finish of the season.

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 second free practice session for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari starts at 13:30pm and can be followed live via GPblog's live blog above.