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Charles Leclerc leads a tight Malaysia practice for the 2026 F1 season, with Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren separated by just 0.137s at Sepang.
Charles Leclerc set the pace in a closely contested practice session for the 2026 Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit on Friday, leading a tight top three covered by just 0.137 seconds. Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and McLaren all featured in the top three, with Leclerc fastest ahead of Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris. The session took place under hot and humid conditions, with track temperatures peaking at 59.5°C in FP2.
Leclerc Leads Tight Malaysia Practice
Leclerc's fastest time edged out Red Bull Racing's Isack Hadjar by 0.099 seconds, while McLaren's Lando Norris was a further 0.038 seconds back. The Monegasque driver was pleased with the car's performance but warned that degradation will be the main challenge for the rest of the weekend. He noted that a small difference in some corners can make a huge difference in degradation.
Norris echoed Leclerc's concerns about the track conditions, describing them as very tricky and the track as quite dirty and slippery. He expects things to change and evolve a lot from today to tomorrow, and emphasized the need to anticipate those changes in the best possible way.
Sepang Surface Challenges Teams
The Sepang circuit, which was announced only 67 days ago, is mostly very old, with only some parts resurfaced during its 27 years of operation. The track surface is very open, resembling a bed of jagged rocks with little bitumen binding it together. This design is partly due to age but also intentional, to allow quick drainage during heavy rain. However, the result is low chemical grip and high tyre degradation, as the jagged asphalt shreds the rubber.
Pirelli estimates degradation at between 0.2 and 0.3 seconds per lap, which is huge and likely to result in as many as three stops per driver. The high degradation will put a premium on good strategy, with the undercut set to be massively powerful. Grip levels will rise as more rubber is deposited on the track, assuming no significant downpours before Sunday.
Red Bull Racing Fastest but Engine Modes Critical
Max Verstappen's lap, set without soft tyres, was impressive, being only 0.257 seconds slower than Leclerc despite the step in compounds and grip. The benefit is compounded by the fact he completed the longest race simulation of any frontrunning driver, with 15 laps on the medium tyre. George Russell completed 17 laps on the softs, but the soft tyre is unlikely to appear in the race, and his average looked uncompetitive.
Red Bull Racing technical director Pierre Waché said the team was not very optimistic starting the weekend but was surprisingly happy with where they were today. He pointed to the upgrade package brought to Baku as delivering a step forward at this more conventional layout.
Because the track is new, no team has settled on the best way to use its power unit, particularly on where to deploy electrical energy. The two long straights are obvious candidates, but there are various flat-out sections around the lap that drivers were experimenting with. Verstappen, for example, was much faster into turn 9 and again up to turn 11 and down the back straight because he was using more electrical energy.
Mercedes had a scrappy FP2, hampered in part by a forecast for rain that never came, meaning neither Andrea Kimi Antonelli nor George Russell completed a representative time. They ended up eighth and seventh respectively, despite the team's big upgrade that some have suggested could be worth 0.3 seconds.
With the track being new and the conditions challenging, teams will need to adapt quickly to find the optimal setup for qualifying and the race. The high degradation and the need for efficient energy deployment will be key factors in determining the outcome of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Malaysia Grand Prix Charles Leclerc Ferrari Red Bull Racing Lando Norris Sepang International Circuit Max Verstappen
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