Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the second free practice session (EL2) of the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang, but the Ferrari driver believes Red Bull may have the most competitive car for the weekend. Leclerc topped the timesheet ahead of Isack Hadjar and Lando Norris, showing that Ferrari is performing well on the soft tires. His pace during long runs was also promising, though slightly behind that of Max Verstappen, who focused more on medium tires during his session. Leclerc mentioned that track conditions were particularly challenging on Friday, with dirty and slippery asphalt making it difficult to find the right car settings. He expects the track to improve before qualifications and emphasized the need to adapt quickly to any changes. Despite feeling confident in his Ferrari, Leclerc does not believe Ferrari is the clear favorite after this first day. He thinks Red Bull may have held back part of its performance and that Mercedes is also hard to assess. The overall hierarchy before qualifications remains uncertain, with Ferrari showing strong pace but possibly lacking the edge of Red Bull. Meanwhile, Mercedes struggled to fully utilize the soft tires in EL2. Lewis Hamilton, who had a more cautious day, noted the lack of grip and the difficulty in finding the right balance, a problem he believes was shared by many drivers. Ferrari used both practice sessions to test various car settings, and the team will now analyze the data to find the best setup for the rest of the weekend. Hamilton said Ferrari is not far from the pace but needs to improve to be more competitive. Despite Leclerc's best time, Ferrari remains cautious, as Red Bull appears fast without fully revealing its potential, and Mercedes remains unpredictable. The battle for pole position at Sepang is therefore wide open. Qualifications for the Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, October 3, starting at 4:00 PM local time in Sepang, which is 10:00 AM in Belgium and France. The session will be divided into three parts—Q1, Q2, and Q3—to determine the starting grid for Sunday's race. Verstappen set the fastest time overall on Friday with a 1:37.520 in the first practice session, while Leclerc was just eight milliseconds behind with a time of 1:37.528 in EL2. The extreme track conditions, with temperatures exceeding 60 °C during EL2, will play a significant role in how teams prepare their tires for fast laps. The weather on Saturday could also influence the outcome, as could the evolution of the track, which F1 teams have not visited since 2017. Several drivers will also experience Sepang for the first time during this weekend. The grid will be affected by penalties, with Hadjar, Arvid Lindblad, and Franco Colapinto starting further back due to exceeding engine component limits. An unusual issue was also noted, as the pole position was initially painted on the wrong side of the track, but the FIA corrected the mistake on Thursday.