Leclerc Tops Sepang FP2 as Storm Clouds Gather — and Hamilton Can’t See a Thing in His Mirror
With dark clouds piling up over Sepang and a 90% chance of rain in the forecast, Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari something to smile about for once — fastest in second practice at 1:37.528. Isack Hadjar was right on his tail, just 0.099s back, with Lando Norris third at +0.137s. Max Verstappen settled for fourth (+0.257s) and chose not to gamble on softs at all, sitting out the closing minutes in the garage.
While most of the field switched to soft tyres for their final runs, Verstappen never bothered. Further down the order, Hamilton finished fifth, but his session was overshadowed by a scrap with Gabriel Bortoleto — the Audi driver had to take evasive action to avoid the Ferrari on the racing line and let his team know about it in no uncertain terms over the radio. Hamilton’s defence? “I can’t see through my right mirror, so keep me up to date.” Thin, perhaps, but enough to send stewards reaching for their rulebook.
The session ended under a Virtual Safety Car after Bortoleto’s car came to a stop trackside in the closing minutes. FP3 is scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 local time, with qualifying to follow at 16:00.
Source: Formula1.com
