Charles Leclerc led second practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit on Oct. 2, setting a fastest lap of 1:37.528 as forecast rain failed to arrive. Isack Hadjar was second, 0.099 seconds back, and Lando Norris completed the top three. Lewis Hamilton placed fifth for Ferrari and was reported to be facing an investigation by the stewards after impeding Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi at Turn 9.

Sepang returned to the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since 2017, hosting the event on behalf of Bahrain. The prospect of Malaysia’s intermittent weather affected preparations: after a dry first practice, forecasts raised the chance of rain from 70 per cent to 90 per cent. All 22 drivers went out early in the one-hour session, seeking representative lap times on a circuit where teams had little data.

Medium tyres were the preferred choice at the start. Max Verstappen, fastest in first practice, again led the early running with a 1:37.785, 0.235 seconds ahead of George Russell, who had also been second in the opening session. Leclerc initially ranked third in his SF-26, 0.254 seconds off Verstappen’s pace, followed by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli at 0.275 seconds back. Hamilton was fifth, about half a second behind the leader.

Some drivers used soft tyres during the opening phase, earlier than is usual for a practice session. Pierre Gasly was fastest among the early soft-tyre runners, sixth overall and 0.892 seconds behind Verstappen’s Red Bull. With rain looming, teams began fitting softs about 20 minutes into the session rather than waiting for the final stages.

Leclerc moved to the top with a 1:37.528 on the soft compound. Norris followed at 1:37.665, 0.137 seconds behind, after changing his McLaren setup to bring it closer to team-mate Oscar Piastri’s configuration. Norris had finished 12th in first practice, while Piastri was 11th. Both McLaren drivers improved their positions in the second session. Leclerc and Norris had not been near the front in the earlier running, and their gains came as both Mercedes drivers lost time in the final sector on their soft-tyre laps.

Hadjar then split Leclerc and Norris with a 1:37.627, making the top three the only drivers in that group to complete their laps on fresh tyres. Verstappen stayed on mediums, ending fourth at 1:37.785, 0.257 seconds off Leclerc. Hamilton was fifth in 1:37.833, 0.305 seconds behind the leader. Piastri rebounded to sixth with 1:37.899, 0.371 seconds back.

Russell and Antonelli took seventh and eighth, respectively, after failing to improve on soft tyres. Russell recorded 1:38.020, 0.492 seconds behind Leclerc; Antonelli’s 1:38.060 left him 0.532 seconds off the pace. Both were behind the McLaren of Piastri. Lawson finished ninth in 1:38.496, 0.968 seconds back, and Gasly completed the top 10 at 1:38.588, 1.060 seconds off the lead.

The full classification placed Arvid Lindblad 11th in 1:38.880, 1.352 seconds behind. Bortoleto was 12th in 1:39.051, followed by Audi team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in 13th at 1:39.109. Esteban Ocon was 14th for Haas in 1:39.361; Fernando Alonso 15th for Aston Martin in 1:39.478; and Oliver Bearman 16th for Haas in 1:39.706. Carlos Sainz was 17th for Williams in 1:39.930, Lance Stroll 18th for Aston Martin in 1:40.150, Valtteri Bottas 19th for Cadillac in 1:40.186, Alex Albon 20th for Williams in 1:40.221, Sergio Perez 21st for Cadillac in 1:40.938, and Franco Colapinto 22nd for Alpine in 1:43.391, 5.863 seconds behind Leclerc.

Lap times remained largely unchanged in the latter half of the session as drivers used older tyres and moved on to race simulations. Lawson and Bortoleto provided one on-track battle, running wheel-to-wheel through all three sectors. On the following lap, Bortoleto overtook Lawson down the inside at Turn 1 before Lawson regained the position.

Bortoleto later brought out a virtual safety car in the final minutes when his Audi stopped in the middle sector. The car had turned itself off and came to rest at the exit of Turn 8, ending the chance for late improvements. Norris also had a close call near the end: approaching the pit-lane entry, he came much closer to Perez’s Cadillac than intended and swerved to avoid it.

Hamilton’s session drew attention for a separate incident at Turn 9, where he moved into Bortoleto’s path. Hamilton told his Ferrari team he could not see out of his right-hand mirror after the mistake. The stewards were investigating whether he had impeded the Audi driver. No outcome of the inquiry was reported in the available accounts.

Based on reporting by Autosport and RaceFans.