Charles Leclerc set the pace in FP2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, edging Isack Hadjar by just 0.099 seconds as the competitive picture tightened considerably at Sepang. The Ferrari driver produced a 1:37.528 on the soft tyre, with Lando Norris only another 0.038s behind for McLaren.
Max Verstappen was fourth despite never completing a representative soft-tyre qualifying run, spending much of the session on the medium compound as Red Bull Racing concentrated on longer-run data. Lewis Hamilton completed the top five ahead of Oscar Piastri, while both Mercedes drivers lost time with mistakes on their fastest laps.
Dark clouds surrounding Sepang had shaped the session before it even began, with teams warned of a 90 percent chance of rain and almost the entire field heading out immediately. The rain ultimately stayed away, but the threat encouraged several teams to bring their qualifying simulations forward rather than risk losing the opportunity later in the hour.
George Russell initially went quickest on the medium tyre with a 1:38.020, only 0.019s ahead of Leclerc, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli sat another 0.021s behind. Verstappen then moved to the front by 0.235s, continuing the form that had taken him to the top of FP1 earlier in the day.
Leclerc strikes as Mercedes makes mistakes
The order changed once the soft tyres appeared, with Hamilton initially moving within 0.048s of Verstappen’s medium-tyre benchmark and Piastri slotting close behind. Leclerc then delivered the cleanest lap of the leading contenders, stopping the clock at 1:37.528 and moving just over a tenth clear of Norris.
Mercedes should have been much closer to the front than seventh and eighth suggested, but both drivers made errors through the final corner during their soft-tyre attempts. Russell ran wide and aborted his lap, while Antonelli also went beyond the limits and had his time deleted, leaving a misleading picture of the upgraded W17’s single-lap potential. Pasted markdown
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The team had already converged the set-ups of its two cars after experimenting more heavily in FP1, while deputy team principal Bradley Lord indicated that the tyre degradation concerns from the opening session were not as severe as initially feared. That was an encouraging development for Mercedes after arriving at Sepang with a significant floor, diffuser and aerodynamic upgrade package.
Hadjar continued an impressive weekend by climbing to second despite the five-place grid penalty he will serve on Sunday for taking a new internal combustion engine. His pace provided another indication that Red Bull’s competitiveness is not restricted to Verstappen, even if the Dutchman’s FP2 programme made direct comparisons difficult.
Verstappen completed 20 laps on the mediums and never switched to the softs for a conventional qualifying simulation. That makes his fourth place, just 0.257s from Leclerc, potentially one of the most significant details of the session as Red Bull focused instead on gathering race data and understanding tyre durability.
McLaren finally shows its hand
McLaren had spent much of FP1 evaluating different rear-wing specifications, leaving its true pace difficult to judge, but FP2 offered a clearer picture. Norris adopted the same rear-wing configuration as Piastri and immediately looked more competitive, finishing third and only 0.137s away from the benchmark.
Piastri ended sixth, 0.371s behind Leclerc, giving McLaren two cars comfortably inside the leading group. After a deliberately understated opening session, the improvement suggested the team could be much more involved in the fight at the front than Friday morning’s times had indicated.
The second half of FP2 shifted towards race preparation, with Leclerc, Hamilton and the Mercedes pair among those conducting higher-fuel running on the soft tyre. Teams were particularly interested in how long the C4 could survive because Sepang’s abrasive surface and high temperatures had raised expectations of significant degradation before the weekend.
The session ended under Virtual Safety Car conditions after Gabriel Bortoleto stopped his Audi on circuit. Early indications pointed towards a hydraulic, gearbox or drive-related problem, with the Brazilian also having suffered possible floor damage earlier after bouncing across the kerbs and grass. Pasted markdown
Hamilton will also face the stewards after FP2 following an impeding incident involving Bortoleto at Turn 9, which left the Audi driver furious after finding the Ferrari on the racing line. The incident disrupted one of Bortoleto’s soft-tyre attempts and was referred for investigation after the session.
Sepang picture remains wide open
The headline belongs to Leclerc, but FP2 did little to establish a clear favourite for the remainder of the Bahrain GP weekend. Ferrari showed genuine one-lap pace, Hadjar kept Red Bull near the front, McLaren moved firmly into contention and Mercedes never completed the laps needed to show its full potential.
Verstappen remains perhaps the biggest unknown after setting his fastest time on the medium tyre and devoting most of the session to longer running. With the weather still unpredictable and the track continuing to evolve, FP3 should finally reveal whether Ferrari’s pace is sustainable or whether Red Bull, Mercedes and McLaren still have significantly more in reserve.
