Second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix: Leclerc on top, Verstappen in P4, Hamilton facing a penalty?

On this Friday of the Bahrain Grand Prix – which, as a one-off, will be held in Malaysia in 2026 – Ferrari star Charles Leclerc is setting the pace: he set the fastest time in the second practice session, ahead of Isack Hadjar and world champion Lando Norris.

However, it is the endurance runs that are more indicative of the form: Max Verstappen, putting in a strong performance, is in the lead there (on medium tyres), ahead of Leclerc, Antonelli, Hamilton and Russell.

The second 60-minute practice session began at 34 degrees, with the track heated up to a scorching 61 degrees; the rain forecast for the start of the session did not materialise, but thick clouds began to gather. Grand Prix winner Pierre Gasly was promptly warned by the Alpine pit wall: rain 10 to 15 minutes away.

Due to the threat of rain at the start of the session, there was plenty of activity on the track, with Mercedes introducing the announced update, consisting of seven different elements, including slimmer sidepods, a new underbody and optimised rear suspension covers.

Mercedes featured a lot of turquoise this weekend – in honour of their long-standing fuel and lubricants partner, Petronas from Malaysia. A visually very successful nod; we’d love to see more of it.

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Max Verstappen, the fastest driver in the first practice session, complained about his seating position: “It’s like a lottery whether I’m sitting right or wrong.” It seems the seat shell wasn’t fitted perfectly into the cockpit.

Nevertheless, Verstappen was fastest after ten minutes, ahead of Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli and Hamilton.

Verstappen’s team-mate Isack Hadjar (third in Baku) complained about the car bouncing on corner entry and vibrations from the brakes. “I can’t drive with complete confidence there.”

An update after a quarter of an hour for Baku winner George Russell: “The rain seems to be easing off.”

Like Hadjar before him, Max Verstappen also complained about the rear end being set up too stiffly, causing the rear axle to bounce.

After 20 minutes, the first drivers were out on soft tyres. George Russell botched his attempt and headed straight for the pits. Kimi Antonelli was unable to improve his time on the softest Pirelli compound compared to his time on the medium tyres – which is odd.

Lewis Hamilton (winner of the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix) closed the gap to leader Verstappen to just 48 thousandths of a second on soft tyres.

Then a new fastest time from Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc, with Norris behind him; Verstappen was now in P3, the 29-year-old Dutchman still not on soft tyres.

And – not for the first time this season – Lewis Hamilton was once again driving slowly on the ideal line. This time, he was blocking Gabriel Bortoleto in the Audi, who protested: “What’s that bloke doing? He saw me, yet he’s still in the way.”

Shortly afterwards, Hamilton said over the radio: “I can’t see anything in my right-hand mirror.” That would explain why he blocked Bortoleto. The FIA announced that Hamilton will have to explain himself after the second practice session to the quartet of stewards: Gerd Ennser (Germany), Mathieu Remmerie (Belgium), Petro Lamy (Portugal) and Mazen Al-Hilli (Bahrain).

The Ferrari superstar recently received a warning for a similar offence. It remains to be seen whether the race stewards will be stricter this time.

Standings after 30 minutes: Leclerc, Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastri, Russell, Antonelli. Audi in 12th (Bortoleto) and 13th (Hülkenberg).

It was striking how many drivers were freely burning through their soft tyre sets. The hard Pirelli tyres were barely touched – hardly surprising, as the drivers will need them for the Grand Prix; the tarmac at the Sepang International Circuit is considered a tyre-eater.

Max Verstappen (fastest in the first practice session) completed a long run on medium Pirelli tyres; in the first practice session, he’d done the same on softs. This reinforces the impression that Red Bull Racing is so far on the right track when it comes to tyre wear.

Isack Hadjar moved up to P2 – thanks to his soft tyres – whilst Gabriel Bortoleto was held up once again, this time by Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad; scenes as if the Bahrain GP were already taking place today, prompting Audi driver Bortoleto to spin off the track. The Briton and the Brazilian battled it out for laps on end.

Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher joked: “Perhaps someone should tell the two of them that we don’t have a race today.”

After several laps, Bortoleto finally squeezed past Lindblad’s car, bringing the practice session to a close.

The stewards reported a string of offences for driving outside the track limits, which could become an issue in qualifying and later in the Grand Prix.

Admittedly, after 120 minutes of practice, the picture isn’t yet clear, but Mercedes aren’t completely dominating the field with the update, as many had feared.

This is, however, with one caveat: Mercedes rarely runs at full throttle on Fridays, and even with a little more fuel in the tank, the true balance of power can be obscured.