Charles Leclerc has set the fastest time in Friday's second practice session at the Malaysian Grand Prix, posting a 1m37.528s lap that puts Ferrari firmly in the mix heading into the weekend. Leclerc's time was nearly identical to Max Verstappen's earlier FP1 benchmark, signalling the Ferrari is genuinely quick around Sepang's 5.5-kilometre layout. Isack Hadjar came within a tenth of that effort for Red Bull in second place, while Lando Norris rounded out the top three for McLaren just 0.137s adrift.

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Verstappen had a frustrating session, getting stuck in the garage for around 15 minutes dealing with a seat issue that left him visibly annoyed. The four-time champion eventually got back on track but skipped his qualifying run on the soft tyres, jumping straight into race simulations instead. That meant he finished fourth, sitting two and a half tenths off Leclerc's pace, though Red Bull seem perfectly content gathering race data with Hadjar's strong showing suggesting they've got the measure of things in Milton Keynes.

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Mercedes, meanwhile, are keeping their powder dry. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and George Russell seventh as the Silver Arrows focused their efforts on fine-tuning a new upgrade package to their W17. The team ran through around five different cooling configurations on their engine cover throughout the session, with neither driver getting a proper soft tyre qualifying attempt. Oscar Piastri managed sixth for McLaren, while Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten.

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The track proved brutal on Pirelli's tyres given the extreme heat and abrasive surface, with track temperatures hitting 57 degrees Celsius. Rain was predicted to arrive during the session, though it never materialised, leaving the surface dry throughout. That said, Malaysia's weather can turn on a dime, so teams will need to stay sharp heading into Saturday's running. With several drivers already carrying grid penalties and everyone still getting up to speed on Sepang's return to the calendar after nine years away, expect plenty of shuffling in the order before qualifying rolls around.

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