Leclerc leads Sepang practice as rivals highlight Red Bull pace

Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in Friday’s second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, edging Isack Hadjar by 0.099 seconds at Sepang. Formula 1’s official session report recorded the Ferrari driver’s best lap at 1 minute 37.528 seconds, with McLaren’s Lando Norris third, 0.137 seconds behind.

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Max Verstappen finished fourth without using the soft tyre, remaining on mediums while others completed faster-tyre runs. Lewis Hamilton was fifth, followed by Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10. The session began under a forecast of a 90 per cent chance of rain, prompting drivers to head out early.

The closing minutes were interrupted when Gabriel Bortoleto stopped beside the circuit, bringing out a Virtual Safety Car. Formula 1 also reported that Hamilton faced an investigation after an alleged impeding incident involving Bortoleto. The report did not give an outcome to that investigation, which followed a close encounter earlier in the session.

Despite finishing fastest, Leclerc told BBC Sport that Red Bull appeared particularly competitive. He pointed to mistakes by Hadjar late in his quick lap and Verstappen’s decision not to attempt a soft-tyre qualifying simulation. Leclerc also described a slippery, dirty surface and said changing track conditions had made the opening day difficult to assess.

Verstappen told the BBC he had prioritised race preparation because rain was forecast. Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache said the team had wanted to evaluate its Baku upgrade through a different range of corners. He reported encouraging signs compared with the previous package, while cautioning that judging performance against other teams remained difficult at this stage.

Mercedes, meanwhile, used the day to assess its first major upgrade since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, according to BBC Sport. Russell said he could feel additional downforce in some corners, but tyre overheating and degradation were the more immediate issues. He viewed those problems as a matter of car set-up rather than the upgrade itself, leaving the team with work to do after its seventh- and eighth-place finishes.