Charles Leclerc puts Ferrari into Bahrain GP fight with FP2 pace in Malaysia

SEPANG – Charles Leclerc and Ferrari entered the fight at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with the Monegasque driver setting the pace in FP2.

Leclerc clocked a 1:37.528 to finish 0.099 seconds ahead of Isack Hadjar, while Lando Norris was third fastest.

Charles Leclerc leads Ferrari to FP2 fastest time in Malaysia

Thick grey clouds gathered over the Sepang circuit in the build-up to FP2, with the FIA’s weather forecast predicting a 90 per cent chance of rain.

The drivers queued in the pit lane with Esteban Ocon leading out the field for what could be their only dry running of the session. Pierre Gasly was warned of a “disruptive” shower in 10 to 15 minutes.

Ocon posted a 1:39.361 to get the timesheet rolling, but the benchmark was down to a 1:37.785 moments later as Max Verstappen completed his first flying lap. The Red Bull driver was a quarter of a second faster than George Russell, with Charles Leclerc slotting into third place.

Dealing with track temperatures that was almost 60 °C, several drivers locked up with Turn 14 proving problematic.

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Kimi Antonelli moved up to fourth place, 0.275s slower than Verstappen’s P1 time. While the Red Bull driver held a quarter of a second advantage, Russell, Leclerc and Antonelli were separated by 0.04s.

Russell swapped to the soft Pirelli tyre, but a mistake forced him into the pit lane rather than completing the lap.

Lewis Hamilton was noted for impeding Gabriel Bortoleto at Turn 9. Race Control announced that it would be investigated after FP2.

His teammate Charles Leclerc went quickest on the soft Pirelli tyres, with a 1:37.528. Lando Norris improved to second ahead of Verstappen and Hamilton.

As more drivers swapped to the soft tyres, Hadjar went second quickest, Oscar Piastri moved up to sixth place, and Liam Lawson was ninth for Racing Bulls.

Audi’s active aero sent Gabriel Bortoleto off the track as he tried to pass Arvid Lindblad in a hairy moment. In a battle of deployment versus aero, Bortoleto continued to come up short against the Racing Bulls driver. Their pre-race preparations continued as they both tried to find an advantage over the other.

Verstappen ran a 15-lap stint on his mediums, having already used the tyres for five laps, before he pitted and was pushed back into the garage. The Red Bull driver, having dropped to fourth, did not run the soft tyres in FP2.

The VSC was out late in the session as Bortoleto came to a halt on the side of the track.

The session ended with Leclerc fastest of all ahead of Hadjar and Norris.

Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia: FP2 top ten

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:37.528
2 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:37.627
3 Lando Norris McLaren 1:37.665
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:37.785
5 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:37.833
6 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:37.899
7 George Russell Mercedes 1:38.020
8 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:38.060
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:38.496
10 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:38.588

The full results from FP2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

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