Charles Leclerc ended Friday at Sepang with the fastest time in Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, but the Ferrari driver warned that the changing track surface and persistently high tyre degradation could become decisive factors for the rest of the weekend. With grip levels exceptionally low on the opening day, Ferrari now faces the challenge of anticipating how conditions will evolve before qualifying and the race.
Despite setting the benchmark in the second practice session, Friday remained difficult to interpret for Ferrari. Sepang had been absent from the Formula 1 calendar since 2017, and the Malaysian circuit returned in extremely dirty condition, with a layer of dust covering the asphalt and dramatically reducing grip.
Charles Leclerc says previous Sepang experience offered little advantage
The difficult surface made FP1 complicated for the entire field, although a handful of drivers theoretically had a small advantage through previous experience of the circuit.
Charles Leclerc was among them. The Monegasque had previously driven at Sepang back in 2016 during his GP3 career, but he admitted that those memories offered very little help on his return.
“Honestly, I had to completely relearn the circuit. I didn’t remember it that well when I came here. I had done an FP1, and then you have to go all the way back to 2016, when I raced here for a weekend in GP3,” Charles Leclerc admitted.
Even so, the Ferrari driver enjoyed returning to one of Formula 1’s most demanding venues.
“But it’s a nice circuit, I enjoyed it. However, today the conditions were really, really, really bad. And so there was very little grip.”
The wider Friday picture also reinforces why the opening sessions need to be interpreted carefully. Sepang’s abrasive surface, evolving grip and tyre behaviour make the weekend especially sensitive to setup decisions, while our analysis of how Pirelli’s Sepang compounds could suit Ferrari’s SF-26 provides additional context on the tyre challenge facing the team.
Ferrari must anticipate how Sepang will evolve
The unusually low grip experienced on Friday prompted Charles Leclerc to identify one of Ferrari’s most important tasks before Saturday. The team will need to predict how much the track will improve and then adjust the SF-26 accordingly, rather than simply reacting to the conditions seen during the opening day.
“With such low grip, we’ll have to be good at anticipating what tomorrow will be like, when the track will be in better condition. It will be very important for us to get that right tomorrow.”
That challenge could prove crucial because the balance required on a dirty, low-grip circuit may not be the same one Ferrari needs once the racing line becomes cleaner and more rubber is laid down. The Scuderia therefore has to prepare the car for conditions that could be significantly different by the time qualifying begins.
Further updates on the Monegasque driver’s weekend can be followed through the Charles Leclerc Ferrari news and results section.
Charles Leclerc focuses heavily on race simulations in FP2
In the second practice session, Charles Leclerc devoted a substantial part of his programme to race simulations. After setting the fastest lap of the day in 1:37.528, he completed extensive running on used Soft and Medium tyres to understand how the compounds behaved over longer stints.
The Ferrari driver began his race simulation with a lap in the 1:43.0 range before his times generally settled between the high 1:44s and low 1:45s. The rhythm itself was encouraging, but tyre degradation was extremely high.
That degradation is expected to become one of the defining factors of the race, especially because Charles Leclerc does not anticipate a dramatic improvement as the weekend progresses. The developing practice data can also be compared through the ScuderiaFans F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis.
High tyre degradation remains Ferrari’s major race concern
While Charles Leclerc expects the grip level itself to improve as the track cleans up, he believes tyre degradation will remain a much more persistent problem.
“Well, the high degradation will be an important factor for the race, because the tyres don’t last very long and I don’t expect the situation to improve significantly over the course of the weekend. The grip itself will probably improve. But it will still be a complicated weekend, especially in terms of degradation.”
That distinction is particularly important for Ferrari. More grip should allow the drivers to push with greater confidence and could change the competitive picture over a single lap, but that does not necessarily mean the tyres will become substantially easier to manage over a full race stint.
For that reason, Ferrari’s work will involve more than simply finding additional qualifying performance. Understanding the balance between outright pace and tyre preservation will be central to preparing the SF-26 for Sunday.
Charles Leclerc hopes Ferrari’s race strength remains
Despite his caution over degradation, Charles Leclerc finished Friday with some optimism about Ferrari’s longer-run potential.
“Usually we have a good race car, so I hope that’s the case this weekend too,” Charles Leclerc concluded.
The fastest FP2 time therefore gives Ferrari an encouraging headline result, but the team’s real test will come from interpreting a circuit that is changing rapidly from session to session. The ability to anticipate those conditions, manage tyre degradation and preserve the SF-26’s race pace could ultimately matter more than Friday’s position at the top of the timesheets.
The remaining sessions and timings for the weekend can be followed through the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang schedule and circuit guide.
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