Ferrari's Leclerc fastest, Hamilton fifth on day one of Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the day and Lewis Hamilton was fifth as Scuderia Ferrari HP completed 103 laps on the opening day at Sepang, back on the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 2017.
- 103
- 1'37"528
- 1'37"833
- 16:00 local (10:00 CEST)
What Happened
Scuderia Ferrari HP completed 103 laps on the first day of track action for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is being held in Malaysia at the Sepang circuit — back on the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 2017. Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of all, while Lewis Hamilton was fifth. The team cautioned that too much importance should not be attached to today's lap times, as the track was extremely dirty with very low grip that gradually improved over the day. The team worked on set-up with the SF-26, gathering data on the Medium and Soft compounds, while the drivers focused on single-lap performance and several race-preparation long runs.
103laps
Leclerc ran 54 laps across the two sessions and Hamilton 49, as Ferrari gathered data on the Medium and Soft compounds at Sepang.
Charles and Lewis started on Medium tyres, completing nine and seven laps respectively on a very low-grip track. They switched to Softs as planned: Leclerc set 1'38"367 for fourth, Hamilton 1'38"590 for sixth. They then did long runs, Leclerc on Softs and Hamilton on the previously run Mediums, completing 25 and 21 laps for a team total of 46.
The two SF-26s repeated the programme, starting on Mediums for more set-up work before switching to Softs. Leclerc set the fastest time of the day in 1'37"528; Hamilton posted 1'37"833 for fifth. The second half was devoted to race preparation, with long runs on Soft and Medium tyres — 29 laps for Leclerc and 28 for Hamilton, taking the day's total to 103.
The team will analyse the collected data this evening to finalise the last set-up details. The third and final free practice session runs at 12:30 (06:30 CEST), followed by qualifying at 16:00 local time (10:00 CEST).
- FP1: 1'38"367, fourth. FP2: 1'37"528, fastest of the day. 54 laps in total.
- FP1: 1'38"590, sixth. FP2: 1'37"833, fifth. 49 laps in total.
“We had a good day and learned a lot about this track, but there's still plenty of work ahead of us until Sunday. Our performance was good, however, we mustn't underestimate our competitors as I think they have more to show tomorrow. The field is tight, the track was quite dirty and slippery today, and I expect to see quite a significant evolution between today and qualifying. Degradation is going to be the main talking point of the weekend. Even a small difference in how you take some of the corners can make a huge difference in terms of degradation, so it should make for an interesting race.”
“It was a challenging day overall, with very little grip available on track. Finding the right balance wasn't easy but that appeared to be a common theme across the field. Throughout the sessions we explored a couple of different set-up directions, and now the focus is on understanding the data and identifying the right compromise. We don't seem too far off the pace but we know there's still work to do to put the car in a better place for tomorrow.”
Previously from Ferrari N.V.
Ferrari is contesting the 16th round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is unusually being staged at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit — F1's first visit to Malaysia since 2017. Before the weekend, Charles Leclerc said Sepang's high-speed corners should suit Ferrari better than Baku, while warning that the fight at the front leaves no room to stand still. Lewis Hamilton used his pre-race press session to praise Malaysia, call the circuit one of the calendar's most demanding, and publicly back Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur.
- Ferrari returns to Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix, F1's first visit to Malaysia since 2017
- Leclerc says Sepang should suit Ferrari better than Baku as F1 heads to Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
- Hamilton gives Vasseur "full trust and support" ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ferrari N.V.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Ferrari ends the first day of the Bahrain Grand Prix — staged in Malaysia this year — with the fastest time, but both drivers say the extremely dirty, low-grip track makes the lap times hard to read. Qualifying on Saturday at 16:00 local time will be the first real test of where the team stands.
Terms in This Story
- compound
- The specific rubber mixture a tyre is made from; harder compounds generally last longer while softer ones offer more grip over a shorter period.
- long run
- A stint of many consecutive laps used to study how a car and its tyres behave over something close to a race distance.
- degradation
- The loss of tyre performance over time as the rubber wears and heats up during a run.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.