Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, leading Red Bull's Isack Hadjar by 0.099 seconds. Lando Norris finished third for McLaren, just 0.137 seconds behind Leclerc in a tight session suggesting four teams could challenge for pole position.
Max Verstappen finished fourth but only 0.257 seconds slower despite running on medium tires throughout the session. The Red Bull driver unusually chose not to complete a qualifying simulation on soft tires, instead focusing on long-run pace as tire degradation became a major factor around Sepang's hot, high-speed layout.
Red Bull's race simulations looked particularly strong, giving Verstappen a realistic chance at his first pole position and victory of 2026. The team appeared to have the pace to top both practice sessions, with Verstappen having won the last Formula 1 race at Sepang in 2017.
Mercedes struggled despite introducing their biggest upgrade package since the Canadian Grand Prix in May. Both George Russell and Kimi Antonelli set their best lap times on medium tires after making mistakes on the softs, with Russell going deep at the final corner and Antonelli running wide at the penultimate turn.
Several drivers face grid penalties for the race, with Hadjar receiving five places for new power unit elements, Franco Colapinto taking 10 places for engine changes plus five more for his Baku collision, and Arvid Lindblad starting from the back after a complete power unit change.