Formula 1: Leclerc Fastest In Bahrain Grand Prix Practice

Charles Leclerc placed Ferrari at the top of the timesheets Friday during practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is being held at Malaysia’s Sepang circuit.

Leclerc finished 0.099 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar. McLaren’s Lando Norris was third, 0.137 seconds adrift of the leader.

Determining the true competitive order was difficult because teams used different approaches. Neither Hadjar nor Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen completed a qualifying-style lap on the soft tyre. Verstappen, who ended the day fourth overall, had looked like a possible fastest driver during practice before the single-lap runs in the second session.

Ferrari, meanwhile, appeared especially strong on longer race-simulation runs. Those comparisons were also hard to judge because teams were split between using soft and medium tyres.

Mercedes’ George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were only seventh and eighth. Mercedes has brought a major upgrade to this event, and it would be a significant shock if the pair qualified that low. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10.

Several drivers face grid penalties. Hadjar will lose five places from his qualifying position after exceeding the allowed number of engine components. Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto will start from the back. Lindblad has engine-related penalties, while Colapinto has a 10-place engine penalty added to the five-place penalty he received for causing a crash at a restart in last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Formula 1 has returned to Sepang, widely regarded as one of the best circuits among the layouts introduced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, because of changes to this year’s schedule.

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races were cancelled early this year due to the war in the Middle East. Bahrain still wanted to stage its event, and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa negotiated for the race to be held in Malaysia.

Bahrain-related activities are taking place at the track. The winner will receive the Bahrain Grand Prix trophy, and rosewater will be sprayed on the podium instead of champagne.