Verstappen sets pace as F1 returns to Sepang, McLaren struggles

Sepang saw Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap in the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Friday. The Ferrari driver completed the 5.543-kilometer circuit in one minute, 37.528 seconds, just under a tenth of a second ahead of Red Bull's Isaac Hadjar. McLaren's reigning world champion Lando Norris rounded out the top three, finishing third in FP2 after starting the day 12th in the first practice session.

Max Verstappen, the reigning four-time world champion, dominated the opening session and maintained the fastest time of the day at 1:37.520 in FP1, but only managed fourth place in the second session. Verstappen, who won the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017 before it was removed from the F1 calendar, is aiming for his first win of the season.

The session was marred by a virtual safety car being deployed two minutes from the end after Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto stopped his car due to gearbox issues, triggering the safety car as marshals pushed his car to the side. Earlier in the session, Hadjar, Lindblad, and Franco Colapinto exceeded their seasonal allowances for engines, resulting in grid penalties for the three drivers.