By: In the second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc came out on top with a time of 1:37.528. Hadjar and Norris completed the top three, separated by a tenth and a half. It should be noted, however, that the French Red Bull driver has a new power unit and will have to serve a five-place grid penalty. Max Verstappen was fourth, having not completed any qualifying-style laps, with Lewis Hamilton fifth. The Briton will be investigated after the session for impeding Bortoleto. The upgraded Mercedes cars were only seventh and eighth, with the team reporting set-up issues.
FP2 summary
As soon as the pit lane opened, every driver headed out on track. The radar showed a 90% chance of rain, although it never arrived. Max Verstappen immediately set the pace on the yellow-walled tyres, two tenths clear of the leading Mercedes. Shortly afterwards, the Brackley team brought both cars in for a compound change, fitting the softs. Their times were good, presumably still some way off qualifying pace, but it was important for the engineers to assess degradation on what was described as a highly abrasive surface. The W17s, however, never came alive as hoped: the team brought several updates from England and, according to Bradley Lord, is experimenting with set-up configurations.
Meanwhile, other drivers ran on the red-walled tyres. Amid mistakes and slides from Russell and Antonelli, Hamilton and Piastri moved into the top three. Shortly after his flying lap, however, the seven-time world champion found himself on the racing line of Bortoleto, hampering the Brazilian's quick lap. The impeding will be investigated after the session, although it is unlikely to result in a penalty.
At the midway point of the session, Charles Leclerc was in first place, followed by Hadjar and Norris. Those drivers, along with others, were carrying out long-run simulations on soft tyres, while Verstappen was still trying the mediums. As soon as the Dutchman returned to the pits, Race Control deployed a Virtual Safety Car after Bortoleto's car stopped at the side of the track. It was a fairly eventful session for the Brazilian, who overtook rivals left, right and centre and ran off track several times. FP2 ended without any further flying laps.
Cover photo by Luca Martini / WHYOUT Images
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Bahrain GP 2026
