Charles Leclerc said Ferrari was not yet Formula 1’s most competitive team at Sepang despite setting the fastest time in second practice for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
After finishing fourth in FP1, Leclerc led Friday’s later session with a 1:37.528. He nevertheless identified Red Bull as the early standout and said tire degradation would be the weekend’s central issue.
Ferrari leads but Leclerc remains cautious
Leclerc finished FP2 0.099 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, while Lando Norris took third for McLaren. Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton followed sixth place in FP1 with fifth in the second session.
Friday’s result put Ferrari at the top of the timing sheet, but Leclerc stressed that the circuit’s condition made the competitive order difficult to establish.
“I mean it's been a very, very difficult day overall,” Leclerc said. “The track conditions were very tricky – the track was quite dirty actually and very slippery – so I think things will change and evolve a lot from today to tomorrow.”
Leclerc said he felt comfortable in the car and described Ferrari’s day as productive. However, he did not regard its FP2 position as proof that the team had the leading package.
Red Bull catches Leclerc’s attention
Leclerc pointed to factors that prevented Red Bull’s drivers from showing their full potential. He said Hadjar made mistakes late in his lap and noted that Max Verstappen did not complete his lap on soft tires.
“I don't think we are the most competitive, and also the Mercedes is a bit difficult to understand,” Leclerc said.
Verstappen had led the opening session for Red Bull, with Leclerc fourth in 1:38.367. Leclerc’s assessment therefore extended beyond the final FP2 order.
Mercedes pace remains unclear
George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished seventh and eighth in FP2 after neither completed a clean lap on soft tires. Mercedes brought a significant upgrade package to Sepang and has won 10 of the first 15 listed races of the 2026 season.
Leclerc said Mercedes’ Friday positions should not be taken as its likely ceiling.
“They don't often get it wrong, so I wouldn't underestimate them,” he said. “I'm sure that once they all put everything together, they'll be very strong.”
He added that Ferrari’s priority was to concentrate on maximizing its own package rather than drawing firm conclusions from its rivals’ disrupted running.
Tire degradation becomes the priority
Leclerc described the degradation as “insane” over team radio in FP1. After the day’s running, he said managing tire performance would be decisive through the remainder of the event.
“The degradation is going to be the main talking point of the weekend, so yeah, that will make the race very interesting and we need to be on top of that,” Leclerc said.
Although he said Ferrari normally has a strong race car, Leclerc warned that small differences through individual corners could produce substantial changes in tire wear. He said the team had gathered useful information but still had work to complete before Sunday.
Vasseur expects the track to evolve
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur agreed that degradation was the team’s main concern. He said this was the first event in five or six weekends at which Ferrari had focused more on tire wear than other performance factors.
Vasseur also cited the extreme conditions and low grip, describing Sepang as almost a new circuit for the field. He expects grip to improve as the weekend continues, leaving Ferrari to anticipate how that evolution will affect its setup and tires.
Ferrari will use the remaining practice running to prepare for those changes before qualifying and Sunday’s Grand Prix, when Leclerc expects the management of tire degradation to provide the clearest measure of the team’s performance.
