Charles Leclerc topped the second practice session at Sepang during Formula 1’s return to Malaysia for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday, outpacing Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris on a dry track despite threatening rain clouds.
All 22 drivers filed onto the track at 1600 local time as the pit lane light turned green and Pierre Gasly’s race engineer warned of forecasted showers. Formula 1 returned to the Sepang International Circuit on Friday for a race officially branded as the Bahrain Grand Prix, an event added to the calendar after the season-opening races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled due to the war in the Middle East. Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa negotiated to hold the replacement race in Malaysia, bringing the sport back to the circuit for the first time since 2017.
Track temperatures exceeded 60 degrees Celsius under tropical humidity. While forecasts pointed to a 90 percent probability of rain ahead of the second session, the downpours largely missed the venue bar a few spits and spots.
Leclerc Tops Timesheets as Red Bull Tests New Package
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc led the second practice session with a lap of 1m 37.528s, finishing 0.137 seconds clear of Lando Norris. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar later slotting into second place left Leclerc at the top as the session concluded.
Max Verstappen skipped a soft-tyre run to prioritize race preparation in the garage as rain was forecast. Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache said the team was happy with the car’s performance after evaluating a package introduced in Baku on corners different from the previous low-speed layout.
We were not very optimistic starting the weekend. The main aspect was to evaluate the package we put in Baku in different type of corners than low speed. It looks to be working better than the previous package. Relative performance is difficult to judge but we were surprisingly happy with where we were today.
Pierre Wache, Technical director
Verstappen is seeking his first win of the season to avoid his first winless year since his 2015 rookie campaign with Red Bull. He currently sits sixth in the standings, trailing championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
Mercedes Struggles With Tyre Wear
George Russell placed seventh and Kimi Antonelli eighth in headline times during the second practice, both finishing outside the top six. Mercedes had debuted its most significant upgrade package in four months at Sepang.
Russell said high tyre degradation on the abrasive, well-aged track surface overshadowed the new parts. Radio communications revealed Mercedes suffered a higher drop-off than rivals in the Malaysian heat.
I’m feeling the downforce in some of the corners but with this amount of tyre overheating and degradation that trumps everything. So we just need to get on top of that overnight,. That’s more of a set-up rather than the upgrade itself and go from there.
George Russell, Mercedes
Antonelli experienced a deleted lap time after exceeding track limits. The Italian driver, who holds a 66-point lead over Russell in the standings, is aiming to bounce back from what he described as his worst weekend
of the season in Azerbaijan, where a qualifying crash forced him to fight back from 16th on the grid to finish fifth Beloit Daily News.
Penalties and Incidents Disrupt Practice
Arvid Lindblad noted the venue provided a reminder of Bahrain’s famous surface, stating the way you have to drive is very similar. Gabriel Bortoleto took avoiding action on the racing line during a near-miss with Lewis Hamilton before Bortoleto later stopped with a mechanical issue, triggering a Virtual Safety Car.
Hamilton reported visibility issues from his right mirror. Stewards reviewed the impeding incident involving Hamilton and Bortoleto after the session.
- Isack Hadjar drops five places for exceeding his permitted engine part allocation.
- Arvid Lindblad will start from the back of the grid due to engine penalties.
- Franco Colapinto will join Lindblad at the back, facing a 10-place engine penalty stacked on top of a five-place penalty for causing a collision at a race restart in Azerbaijan.
Teams will review long-run data ahead of Free Practice 3 on Saturday at 12:30 local time, followed by Qualifying at 16:00 to set the grid.