Leclerc fastest in second Bahrain GP practice at Sepang, Hamilton fifth for Ferrari
Charles Leclerc topped the times for Scuderia Ferrari HP in second free practice, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton fifth fastest at Malaysia's Sepang circuit.
- 1'37"528
- 1'37"833
- 1'38"039
- 1'38"577
What Happened
Charles Leclerc was quickest overall for Scuderia Ferrari HP at the end of the second free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, held at Malaysia's Sepang circuit. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton ended the session fifth fastest. Both Ferraris began the session on Medium tyres, with each driver completing six laps on that compound.
- 1'38"039
- 1'38"577
- 1'37"528
Switching to Soft tyres, Leclerc improved his best time to 1'37"528 and Hamilton to 1'37"833. Leclerc then completed a long run on the same set of tyres, with his team-mate following suit shortly afterwards. In the final part of the session both drivers switched back to the Mediums.
29laps
Leclerc's total for the session, with Hamilton completing 28 laps; the pair's session is listed as 57 laps combined.
Across the session Leclerc totalled 29 laps and Hamilton 28, as both drivers worked through Medium and Soft running ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sepang. The second practice session ended with Leclerc quickest overall and Hamilton fifth.
Previously from Ferrari N.V.
Hamilton used his pre-race press session at Sepang to praise Malaysia, call the circuit one of the calendar's most demanding, and publicly back Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur. Leclerc said ahead of the weekend that Sepang's high-speed corners should favour Ferrari more than Baku, while warning that the fight at the front leaves no room to stand still. 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.
- Hamilton gives Vasseur "full trust and support" ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang
- Leclerc says Sepang should suit Ferrari better than Baku as F1 heads to Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
- Ferrari returns to Sepang for the Bahrain Grand Prix, F1's first visit to Malaysia since 2017
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ferrari N.V.'s official releases.
Why this matters
This is the final track running before qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix, so the practice order gives an early read on who has pace at Sepang. Ferrari can take encouragement from Leclerc going quickest overall, while Hamilton's fifth place leaves work to do, and the team's long runs on Medium and Soft tyres begin building the data it needs for the race.
Terms in This Story
- free practice
- Timed, non-scoring track sessions before a race weekend's qualifying and race, used by teams to test car set-ups and tyre behaviour.
- Medium tyres
- A mid-range tyre compound that trades some grip for greater durability compared with softer options.
- Soft tyres
- The grippiest tyre compound, offering faster single-lap times but typically wearing out sooner than harder compounds.
- long run
- A sustained sequence of laps on one set of tyres, used to gauge how performance holds up over a race-distance stint.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.