Nine years after Formula 1 last raced at Sepang, Max Verstappen needed little time to make himself comfortable again. The Red Bull Racing driver set a 1:37.520 to lead the opening practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, finishing 0.383 seconds ahead of George Russell as the field wrestled with a dusty, low-grip Sepang circuit.
The timesheet told only part of the story as teams approached Formula 1’s first proper running at the circuit since 2017 with little recent data and several different priorities. Temperatures climbed relentlessly towards 57 degrees Celsius on track, while the green surface improved almost lap by lap as rubber began to cover the dust.
Verstappen looked comfortable from the outset and became the first of the leading drivers to establish a meaningful benchmark on the soft tyre. Isack Hadjar briefly displaced him despite complaining that he had “zero fronts”, before Russell and then Verstappen responded as the grip level continued to rise.
The final margin suggested Red Bull had started strongly, although the session was not entirely straightforward for the team. Mechanics inspected the rear of Verstappen’s car during the hour and the team was also monitoring overheating, an issue that could force changes to its cooling configuration before FP2.
Mercedes starts answering questions over major upgrade
Mercedes had more to evaluate than most after bringing its first significant upgrade package since Canada, including changes to the bodywork, floor, diffuser and rear suspension. Russell adapted quickly enough to emerge as Verstappen’s closest challenger, although the W17 appeared harder on its tyres during longer runs.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth after producing a 1:38.580, just 0.010s ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes had described the early grip as lower than expected, making FP1 as much about understanding the upgraded car’s operating window as chasing the headline time.
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That work arrives at an important point in the championship after Russell’s victory in Azerbaijan reduced Antonelli’s advantage to 66 points. Sepang’s combination of high-speed direction changes, long straights and punishing heat should provide a very different measure of Mercedes from the stop-start demands of Baku.
Charles Leclerc placed Ferrari fourth, while Hamilton was sixth as the Scuderia settled into the leading group without showing its full hand. Pierre Gasly impressed in seventh for Alpine, ahead of both Racing Bulls cars and Nico Hulkenberg.
McLaren’s position was more difficult to read, with Oscar Piastri 11th and Lando Norris 12th. Rather than focus exclusively on lap time, McLaren ran different rear-wing specifications across its two cars as it compared aerodynamic options for a circuit that places unusual demands on both efficiency and downforce.
Sepang heat raises early tyre questions
Tyre degradation had been one of the biggest talking points before the cars left the garage, with Sepang’s abrasive asphalt combining with extreme temperatures to create an obvious challenge. The first evidence was more encouraging than expected, however, with Arvid Lindblad completing 12 laps on one set of softs and several drivers able to extend their runs without dramatic performance loss.
That durability could become important later in the weekend, particularly if teams discover the soft tyre can survive more than one qualifying attempt or form part of a viable race strategy. Conditions will remain a moving target, though, because the surface is still rubbering in rapidly and Malaysia’s weather can change far more quickly than a Friday practice programme would like.
There were few serious incidents despite the lack of grip, although several drivers tested the substantial kerbs and escape areas as they searched for the limit. Russell bounced heavily across the kerbs late in the hour, while Esteban Ocon ran wide during a close-following experiment with Carlos Sainz, narrowly keeping the car away from the grass.
The clean running allowed almost every team to gather significant mileage, something that may prove particularly valuable given the lack of modern reference data from Sepang. FP2 should offer a clearer indication of the competitive order once the circuit has evolved further and teams move away from aerodynamic experiments towards more representative qualifying and race work.
Verstappen, though, has already provided the first warning. The last man to win an F1 race in Malaysia returned to Sepang and immediately went quickest, leaving Red Bull with an encouraging baseline and the rest of the paddock wondering how much more is still to come.
