Lewis Hamilton secured second place at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia after a final adjustment to his Ferrari car helped the team find the correct balance. The seven-time world champion revealed that a change made just before qualifying significantly improved the handling of his Ferrari at Sepang. After struggling to find the right setup on Friday, Hamilton managed to secure an impressive second place on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held in Malaysia. Hamilton will start alongside Max Verstappen, who achieved his first pole position of the season. Hamilton finished approximately three tenths of a second behind the Dutchman, but this result marks a significant improvement after the difficulties Ferrari and its drivers faced during the free practice sessions. Numerous modifications were tested on the SF-26 before a final adjustment allowed the team to find the optimal operating window. High track temperatures were one of the main challenges of the Malaysian weekend. The intense heat put the tires under significant stress and caused substantial overheating, while drivers had to manage cars that were difficult to keep within their optimal performance range. Hamilton had already mentioned on Friday the lack of grip and the difficulty in finding a satisfactory compromise. After qualifying, he emphasized the effort Ferrari made to gradually improve his car. "We made a lot of changes during all these test sessions. As the cars slide and these tires overheat, it was really very difficult to find a good balance," Hamilton said. Ferrari decided to make a last-minute adjustment before qualifying, a choice that proved crucial as Hamilton immediately felt more comfortable driving his SF-26. "We made a last-minute change before qualifying and I think we found the ideal setup," Hamilton said. The Briton then gradually improved his performance until he secured second place in Q3. He notably outperformed his teammate Charles Leclerc, who finished fifth, despite the Monegasque having shown a very encouraging pace on Friday by dominating the EL2 sessions. Hamilton has especially narrowed the gap with Verstappen, who has been particularly strong since the start of the weekend. The Red Bull driver had set the fastest time of the day on Friday before confirming his speed in qualifying with a lap of 1:35.130. "Being able to reduce the gap to two or three tenths of Max, who has been so fast throughout the weekend, is great. I'm really very grateful," Hamilton said. This second place also offers a particularly symbolic image since Hamilton and Verstappen will share the front row of a starting grid for the first time since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Ferrari can therefore nourish serious ambitions for the race, even if tire management is likely to play a major role. Charles Leclerc had already warned after Friday's tests that the strong degradation would probably remain one of the main challenges of the weekend. Hamilton will now have to confirm over the duration of a Grand Prix the progress observed after this last-minute change. But after spending much of Friday searching for the right compromise, Ferrari seems to have found the right direction at the best possible moment. Facing a Verstappen who is still aiming for his first win of the 2026 season, Hamilton now has an ideal opportunity to immediately put the Red Bull under pressure at the start.