Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the second free practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Friday, putting Ferrari at the top of the timesheets ahead of Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris.
Leclerc ended FP2 at the head of the field after setting the benchmark in a session that threatened rain throughout. The Ferrari driver was followed by Red Bull rookie Isack Hadjar and McLaren’s Lando Norris, while championship leader Max Verstappen finished fourth.
After getting familiar with the Sepang International Circuit during a dry and sunny FP1 on Friday morning, the drivers faced much more uncertain conditions heading into FP2, with dark clouds still hanging over the track.
With a 90 percent chance of rain forecast for the session, most drivers were eager to get early mileage under their belts. That resulted in a long queue of cars heading out of the pit lane as the lights turned green at 4:00pm local time.
Pierre Gasly’s race engineer voiced concerns about the potential impact of the incoming weather as all 22 drivers headed onto the circuit. Most of the field started the session on medium tyres, while five drivers – the McLaren and Cadillac pairings along with Gasly – opted for the soft compound.
Verstappen initially carried his strong FP1 form into the second session, setting the early benchmark with a lap of 1:37.785. The four-time world champion was two-tenths of a second clear of Mercedes driver George Russell.
However, Verstappen was not entirely satisfied with his Red Bull, reporting over team radio that he was having issues with his seating position. In the second RB22, Hadjar also complained about vibrations from his car.
Around 15 minutes into the session, several drivers, including both Mercedes cars, switched to soft tyres in an attempt to set competitive laps before the rain arrived. Kimi Antonelli had his lap deleted for exceeding track limits, while Russell abandoned his attempt in the final sector, leaving the Mercedes pair in fourth and second respectively at that stage.
There was also a tense moment involving Gabriel Bortoleto and Lewis Hamilton. Bortoleto was forced to take evasive action after encountering the slower Ferrari on the racing line. The incident prompted an angry radio message from the Audi driver and was subsequently noted by the stewards.
Hamilton later explained that he could not “see through my right-hand mirror” during the incident.
As the skies appeared to brighten around the halfway point of the session, Leclerc moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:37.528, just 0.137 seconds ahead of Norris. Verstappen remained third before his Red Bull team-mate Hadjar shuffled the order by moving into second.
With FP2 entering its final third, Verstappen and Franco Colapinto were the only drivers yet to run the soft tyres. Bortoleto, meanwhile, asked Audi to check the underside of his car after running wide while battling Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad, with the pair continuing their fight for several laps.
Colapinto eventually switched to soft tyres in the final minutes, but Verstappen stayed on the medium compound as teams focused on completing their Friday programmes. Many drivers spent the closing stages working through long-run data rather than chasing outright lap times.
Yellow flags were deployed with just two minutes remaining when Bortoleto stopped at the side of the track. The Brazilian driver climbed out of his stranded Audi as a Virtual Safety Car was subsequently introduced.
When the chequered flag fell, Leclerc’s earlier lap remained unbeaten, securing top spot for Ferrari. Hadjar emerged as his closest challenger, finishing less than a tenth of a second behind, while Norris completed the top three.
Verstappen remained fourth after spending the final stages in the garage, meaning he never completed a soft-tyre run.
Hamilton finished fifth, although he was set to face a post-session investigation over the alleged blocking incident involving Bortoleto. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, Russell, Antonelli, Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson and Gasly completed the top 10.
Lindblad finished 11th ahead of Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg of Audi, Esteban Ocon of Haas, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, Haas rookie Ollie Bearman, Carlos Sainz of Williams, Lance Stroll of Aston Martin, Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac, Williams driver Alex Albon, Cadillac’s Sergio Perez and Colapinto.
With the opening day of running at Sepang now complete, teams and drivers will have the opportunity to analyse their data before returning to the circuit for FP3 on Saturday at 12:30pm local time.
Qualifying will follow later in the day at 4:00pm, with the teams now facing a final chance to prepare their cars ahead of the all-important battle for pole position.
Adhe is part of the 88 Eight Box Editorial Team, covering JDM culture, motorsport, automotive technology, and industry news. The team focuses on delivering original automotive stories, reviews, and insights for enthusiasts worldwide.
