Leclerc Tops Tricky Sepang Practice for Bahrain Grand Prix
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 2, 2026
First practice pace
Sepang hosted Bahrain Grand Prix practice sessions on behalf of Sakhir, and Max Verstappen set the tone in the opening run for Red Bull. He topped first practice by 0.383 seconds over George Russell, with Isack Hadjar third and Charles Leclerc fourth in the 22-car session. Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton completed the top six, while Pierre Gasly took seventh. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris missed the top 10, finishing 11th and 12th, and Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez brought up the rear in 21st and 22nd.
The opening session established a baseline before the order changed in second practice. Verstappen led the first run, while Russell and Hadjar also placed near the front. Leclerc, Antonelli and Hamilton completed the leading group, with Gasly seventh. Piastri and Norris had more work to do after finishing outside the top 10.
Leclerc tops practice
Charles Leclerc answered in second practice for Ferrari, and he did it with the fastest lap of the session, a 1:37.528. Isack Hadjar stayed in the fight and finished second, 0.099 seconds behind Leclerc. Lando Norris took third, 0.137 seconds back, and Verstappen finished fourth after a long stint on medium tires and without using soft tires. That left the top of the timesheet with a different look from the first session, but Leclerc’s speed gave Ferrari the headline run of the day.
Mercedes had a difficult session despite bringing an upgraded W17, and Lewis Hamilton finished more than three tenths behind Leclerc. Hamilton also drew scrutiny after impeding Gabriel Bortoleto. The changing order produced a different front group from first practice, with Norris moving up to third after missing the front group in the earlier session.
Conditions and penalty
The second-practice session began under threatening rain clouds and track temperatures near 60 degrees Celsius. Grip proved hard to find across the field, and Turn 14 gave multiple drivers trouble. The session ended when Gabriel Bortoleto stopped on track late in the run, which brought out a virtual safety car.
Hadjar has a five-place grid penalty for using too many engine parts. That penalty leaves him with a tougher path once the race weekend reaches the grid. The results left Leclerc, Verstappen, Norris and Hadjar among the main names at the front of the running.
