Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang Circuit, Malaysia. The Ferrari driver clocked 1m37.528s, edging out Isack Hadjar by 0.099s in second, with Lando Norris completing the top three.
Sepang's return to the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 2017 was met with the threat of rain that made the session unusually hectic. Forecasts initially suggested a 70% chance of rain, later rising to 90%, despite a dry FP1. As a result, both practice sessions started busily with all drivers heading out early.
In the early stages of FP2, medium tyres were the preferred choice. Max Verstappen, who topped FP1, led with a 1m37.785s, 0.235s quicker than Mercedes' George Russell. Leclerc was initially third, 0.254s off, followed by Kimi Antonelli in fourth and Lewis Hamilton in fifth, half a second adrift.
However, as in FP1, some drivers immediately used soft tyres. Pierre Gasly of Alpine was the fastest among those on the red-walled rubber, in sixth, 0.892s behind Verstappen's Red Bull. Typically, drivers wait until the end of a practice session to fit softs, but at Sepang, that happened only 20 minutes in due to the rain threat.
Teams were desperate to set semi-representative lap times on a track they have little data for. Leclerc then vaulted to the top with a 1m37.528s, 0.137s quicker than second-placed Norris, who adjusted his McLaren setup to be more in line with teammate Oscar Piastri after finishing a disappointing 12th in FP1. Neither Leclerc nor Norris were particularly near the top in the first session, but in the second they benefited from both Mercedes drivers botching their soft tyre runs in the final sector.
Verstappen stayed on the medium tyre but not teammate Hadjar, who soon split Leclerc and Norris with a 1m37.627s - the top three completing their laps on fresh rubber. But then, due to drivers using old tyres and subsequently completing race simulations, the lap times remained static for the final half of the one-hour session.
The highlight was Liam Lawson and Gabriel Bortoleto going wheel-to-wheel through all three sectors, ending the next lap after the Audi overtook down the inside of Turn 1 before Lawson got back ahead. Bortoleto also caused a virtual safety car. This session provided an early glimpse of the competition at the Bahrain Grand Prix, uniquely held in Malaysia, and the FP2 results show that the battle at the front is incredibly tight.
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