Russell fastest for Mercedes ahead of Sprint

George Russell set the fastest time in Practice Two at the Emilia Romagna GP as Mercedes showed signs of improvement ahead of Saturday's Sprint.

Russell finished ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Perez and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with the other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton fourth.

With qualifying having been held on Friday ahead of the first Sprint of the season, teams were expected to focus solely on their race set-ups in the final practice session.

It remains to be seen whether Mercedes were merely trying out a racier set-up than their rivals in the first dry conditions of the weekend at Imola, or if the Silver Arrows have actually made ground after their disappointing start to the season.

Max Verstappen, who will start the Sprint at the front of the grid after beating Leclerc to pole during Friday's wet qualifying, was seventh.

There was major concern for McLaren, who were unable to get Daniel Ricciardo out on track due to an issue, while Lando Norris' track time was limited due to a brake issue as he finished slowest among the drivers who posted lap times.

The only other car that failed to make it on track was the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas, with the technical issue which forced him to stop in qualifying on Friday yet to have been repaired.

More to follow...