Charles Leclerc set the pace in a close second practice session at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
However the Ferrari driver may well be wary of the threat from Red Bull. First practice pace-setter Max Verstappen did not touch the soft tyres during the second session, while his team mate Isack Hadjar used a set to lap within a tenth of a second of Leclerc’s time.Lando Norris was also close behind in the McLaren. He had a near-miss at the end of the session when he approached the pit lane entry much closer than Sergio Perez ahead of him and had to swerve to avoid the Cadillac.
Verstappen ended the session fourth-quickest on the medium compound tyres. His best time was only a quarter of a second slower than Leclerc’s.
Lewis Hamilton put the other Ferrari in the top five but faces an investigation by the stewards for impeding Gabriel Bortoleto. Hamilton told his team he could not see out of his right-hand mirror after blundering into the Audi driver’s path at turn nine.
The updated Mercedes ended the session behind Oscar Piastri, George Russell ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
The session was interrupted briefly in the final minutes when Bortoleto’s Audi turned itself off and he rolled to a stop at the exit of turn eight.
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2026 Bahrain Grand Prix second practice result
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