Ferrari opened the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend at Sepang with an encouraging showing in FP1, despite struggling more over a single lap on a low-grip Malaysian track. Charles Leclerc finished fourth, 0.847 seconds behind Max Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton ended the opening practice session in sixth place, 1.070 seconds off the pace. The more promising indications came from the SF-26’s race simulations, where Ferrari appeared to manage tyre degradation more effectively.
The Maranello team arrived in Malaysia aiming to improve on the performances seen during the most recent rounds. Ferrari has not finished on the podium since the Belgian Grand Prix, around two and a half months ago, increasing the importance of making progress during the closing part of the season. The full weekend programme and circuit details are available in the 2026 Bahrain GP at Sepang schedule and circuit guide.
Ferrari has introduced a number of small updates to the SF-26 for the Malaysian weekend. Their purpose is to help the car work more effectively while the team waits for the more substantial package that, in all probability, will arrive at Austin in a few weeks.
The championship objectives have effectively faded, but Ferrari intends to continue developing the car. The work carried out during the remainder of the season should also help the engineers understand more clearly how to refine their approach ahead of the 2027 project. Improvement is therefore the central objective for the rest of the campaign as Maranello tries to put itself in the strongest possible position for next season.
Ferrari’s work during Bahrain GP FP1 at Sepang
Ferrari sent both SF-26s onto the circuit for the opening stint on Medium tyres. After the first attempts, Lewis Hamilton was third, almost nine tenths away from the quickest time, while Charles Leclerc was 11th and 1.6 seconds off the top of the timesheets.
The Sepang circuit was extremely slippery during the early stages of the session, and Charles Leclerc was advised to make changes to the brake balance. On his second attempt, the Monegasque driver moved up to third place, around four tenths behind Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton also improved slightly, reaching sixth position around one second away from the benchmark.
Neither Ferrari driver improved on the following attempt, and both were subsequently called back into the pits. After spending approximately five minutes in the garage, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton returned to the track on the Soft compound.
Following the first Soft-tyre runs, Charles Leclerc was third, almost half a second behind George Russell, while Lewis Hamilton was fourth at nearly seven tenths. Both drivers completed only one attempt before returning to the pits for a quick turnaround ahead of their next runs.
Charles Leclerc then made a significant front-wing adjustment, adding as many as ten points of load. Neither Ferrari driver improved on the subsequent attempt, however, and both returned to the garage once again.
Ferrari shows more encouraging race pace in FP1
With around ten minutes remaining, Ferrari switched its attention to race simulations. Charles Leclerc completed his long run on the Soft compound, while Lewis Hamilton used the Medium tyre. The opening laps from both drivers were encouraging, with consistent and competitive times.
That represented a positive indication at a circuit expected to place considerable demands on tyre wear. The combination of Sepang’s characteristics and the available compounds is particularly significant for Ferrari, with the expected tyre behaviour explored in greater detail in our analysis of why Pirelli’s Sepang compounds may suit the Ferrari SF-26.
At the same time, the extremely low level of grip during FP1 made it difficult to draw firm conclusions about outright performance. Mercedes and Red Bull appeared particularly comfortable in the conditions, while Ferrari and McLaren encountered slightly more difficulty. McLaren, as is often the case during practice sessions, also adopted a cautious approach to the start of the weekend.
SF-26 shows lower tyre degradation than Mercedes
The long-run picture produced a different trend. Mercedes appeared to struggle considerably with tyre drop-off during its race-pace running, while the two Ferrari SF-26s showed noticeably lower degradation with Charles Leclerc on the Soft tyre and Lewis Hamilton on the Medium.
Red Bull also performed well, while McLaren showed particularly competitive pace with higher fuel loads. Those observations remain preliminary because Sepang is effectively a new track for the current generation of cars, and two further practice sessions remain in which grip levels should increase and every team will have an opportunity to improve.
Mercedes also has a substantial upgrade package on the W17 that still needs to be optimised, adding another variable to the competitive picture. For Ferrari, however, the opening session provided at least one encouraging indication: although the SF-26 did not appear especially convincing over a single lap, its tyre degradation and consistency during the race simulations offered a more positive starting point for the rest of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
As conditions evolve, the relative pace and consistency of the teams can be followed through the ScuderiaFans F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis.
Leave a Reply