F1 2020 Tuscan GP: Friday Practice - As it happened

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Back-to-back races in Italy take us to Mugello for the inaugural Tuscan Grand Prix. 

Mugello hosts its first Formula 1 championship race when it's more accustomed to hosting MotoGP and Motorcycle races.

A high-speed, undulating circuit - modern F1 cars are going to be epic as they tackle this fantastic Italian circuit.

It’s been a busy time off the track with Sebastian Vettel confirmed as Sergio Perez’s replacement at Aston Martin for 2021, while Ferrari celebrates its 1000th race in the sport and will be sporting a new one-off livery for this weekend.

What happened last time out?

Last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza was a modern classic as for the first time since 2013, a non-Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull took the race victory in the form of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly.

Gasly inherited the lead from Lewis Hamilton after the Mercedes driver was handed a 10-second stop-go penalty for entering the pit lane while it was closed due to Kevin Magnussen’s stricken Haas being parked close to the entry. 

He maintained the lead and saw off a fast-charging Carlos Sainz in the closing stages to take his maiden win and the first Frenchman to do so since 1996. 

Sainz finished second ahead of the Racing Point of Lance Stroll, who after the red flag period had the net lead but a series of mistakes on the restart dropped the Canadian out of contention.

Lando Norris saw off Valtteri Bottas, who endured a torrid race as he dropped from second to sixth on the first lap.

Daniel Ricciardo finished sixth ahead of Hamilton, who recovered from dead last to seventh.

What to expect from this weekend?

The high downforce nature of the circuit will play into Mercedes’ hands so expect it to be the team to beat.

Red Bull will surely be stronger than it was at Monza, while Ferrari will be hoping to take a step forward following two non-points scores at Spa and Monza in the previous two races.

Dry, hot conditions are expected for the duration of the weekend in Tuscany.

Pirelli has nominated the C1, C2 and C3 tyre compounds for this weekend.