Charles Leclerc set the pace in Friday's second practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, edging Lando Norris by 0.137s as Ferrari ended FP2 on top at the Sepang International Circuit.
It was an encouraging read for Ferrari after a dry and sunny opening practice hour, even though FP2 came with a 90 per cent chance of rain hanging over the session. All 22 drivers headed out when running began at 1600 local time, and the first meaningful push laps followed around 15 minutes in when several drivers switched to soft tyres.
Leclerc stays ahead as the track evolves
Leclerc had already shown strong pace at the halfway point of FP2, when he was fastest on 1m 37.528s. He held onto that position to the end, with Hadjar emerging as the closest challenger behind him. The closing stages turned more toward long runs, which meant fewer headline-grabbing improvements at the top of the order.
With two minutes remaining, Bortoleto stopped at the side of the track and a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, adding one more interruption to a session that was already shaped by changing track conditions and the threat of rain. Lewis Hamilton also had a small visibility concern during the session, noting that he could not see through his right mirror.
For Ferrari, Leclerc's time offered an early benchmark rather than a final verdict, but it still mattered. Practice order is never the full story, yet topping FP2 gives the team a useful sign that the car is working well enough to fight near the front going into the rest of the Grand Prix weekend.
