Valtteri Bottas improves his timesheet topping time with a 1:34.289.

Lewis Hamilton is up to P2, two tenths slower than his team-mate while Peirre Gasly is third quickest, six tenths down on Bottas. All three have set their times on softs.

Kimi Raikkonen pops up in third quickest, half a second down on Valtteri Bottas's benchmark.

All being well tomorrow, Raikkonen will make his 322nd race start, equalling Rubens Barrichello's record.

Wonder what that equates to in total of 'Bwoahs' uttered?

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Bottas just went in a little bit deep like Sainz did yesterday - actually the first part of the corner was very similar to Sainz but rather then try and make it round the corner he didn't have that snap of oversteer as he just straightened up the wheel and just committed to using the run off.

"The grip is really low," reports Valtteri Bottas.

Both he had Lewis Hamilton have struggled with grip in the middle part of their laps.

Better from Bottas as a 1:35.183 puts him top of the pile. He, like his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, is on softs.

Hamilton smashes it through the first sector but is a bit scrappy through the middle sector and crosses the line seven tenths down on Bottas.

Valtteri Bottas has a little moment, running wide at Turn 7 and that scuppers the flyer he was on.

Clean lap for Daniel Ricciardo, though, as he does a 1:35.672 - the quickest of these early times.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Mick Schumacher is doing everything right in F2 but it's the qualifying pace - that is what the biggest comparison is in Formula 1 and that's what he's going to have to work on if he does make the step up - which it look like he probably will.

Busying up now with 12 minutes gone as Valtteri Bottas, fastest in second practice, heads out. He is joined by Daniel Ricciardo and several others.

Lando Norris, on mediums, completes the first flying lap of the session with 1:36.4.

Carlos Sainz is the only other driver to have been out on track but just for one installation lap and is now back at base.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

I think we'll see Mick Schumacher in an Alfa Romeo next year. He'll have to win the championship first - and they do have to make a decision Ferrari on what driver they promote, as it'll be hard for them to promote someone who's not first in the championship. Everyone is desperate to see Mick Schumacher in Formula 1, for obvious reasons.

Finally, Lando Norris breaks the silence and takes his McLaren out onto the track.

Image source, Getty Images

Still we wait for someone - anyone - to head out onto the circuit.

In the meantime, let's have a look back on what happened on the track earlier - Mick Schumacher won the F2 race to extend his championship lead.

We're just seeing shots now of Mick walking through the paddock with the lovely big trophy he has won.

How long do you think until we see Mick in Formula 1?

Final practice is under way!

No-one is in a rush to head out yet, though.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

F1 managing director Ross Brawn has been pushing the idea of reverse-grid races in place of qualifying for some time now, and the mixed-up Italian Grand Prix gave him encouragement to run it up the flagpole again. But this weekend it has emerged that the chances of it happening are slim.

To introduce it next year - even as a trial at four or so races, as is Brawn’s wish - requires a so-called “super-majority” under F1’s new voting system. That means it needs 28 of the 30 votes, with 10 each allocated to the FIA and F1 and one each for the 10 teams. So, Brawn has to hope no more than two teams vote against it. That, though, seems unlikely.

Mercedes have always been opposed. On Friday morning, McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl said: “It introduces artificial randomness that we feel should not be part of Formula 1.” And in the press conference Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul allowed that it was “a great opportunity for mixing things up” but said the main issue was bringing the field closer together, which the new 2022 rules are expected to do, and Abiteboul said: “We are near enough 2022 not to have to use that artefact at this point in time.”

Even Red Bull’s Christian Horner, who had been one of the biggest champions of the idea, said he was conflicted, in that the “racer and purist in you says it’s absolutely the wrong thing to do” but that “F1 shouldn’t be scared of perhaps trying something different”. However, Horner indicated he would agree only if it “could be done in a manner that didn’t affect the championship because I can’t see how you can have a different rule for one race to the other events but maybe a non-championship race, an invitation race”. So, it looks dead in the water for now.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

The big news of Friday was the announcement that former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali will become the new boss of F1 next year. ‘News’ might be stretching it a bit, seeing as the story broke earlier in the week, and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner described it as “an open secret” a couple of hours before the official press release came out.

Domenicali’s appointment was met with universal acclaim. He is a popular and highly regarded man, and as Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said: “Stefano is foremost a man with a great personality, integrity, and knowledge of the sport. He’s a very very good choice for the role.”

Image source, Getty Images