The 2026 Formula 1 season continues this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which marks the 16th round of the campaign.
This weekend marks F1's first visit to the Sepang International Circuit since the last Malaysian Grand Prix in 2017.
However, this will not be officially counted as a Malaysian Grand Prix, as the event is being run and paid for by the Bahrain Grand Prix. As such, the event is being called the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
Despite the tropical setting, the Bahrain organisers have flown in around 500 marshals from the country, while much of the branding around the circuit reflects that of the Sakhir track.
The event has been moved to Malaysia this year due to the ongoing war in Iran. The Bahrain Grand Prix had originally been due to run in April back-to-back with Saudi Arabia.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli comes into the Bahrain Grand Prix leading the championship still, though a fifth-place finish after a crash in qualifying last time out at Baku has seen his advantage lowered by Mercedes team-mate George Russell.
Mercedes has an updated car at Sepang, as it looks to rebuild its dominant advantage from earlier in the season.
Ferrari will be out to quieten the noise around the team in the last week surrounding the future of Fred Vasseur, with both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc publicly backing their team boss on Thursday at Sepang.
Red Bull nearly denied Mercedes victory in Azerbaijan, with Max Verstappen just 0.1s behind Russell at the chequered flag. Verstappen was the last winner at Sepang in F1, while the long straights should suit the Red Bull's Ford power unit.
This weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix has been declared a heat hazard, while air quality could be an issue due to haze in the region right now.
On top of that, F1's 2026 cars could face their first proper wet weather test at Sepang.
2026 Bahrain Grand Prix Friday schedule
FP1 - 5:30am BST - 6:30am BST
FP2 - 9am BST - 10am BST
That brings a close to our coverage of Friday practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
We will resume our live coverage for final practice and qualifying tomorrow. FP3 gets underway at 5.30am UK time, so be sure to join us then!
Here is how the F1 timesheets looked after the second Free Practice session at the Sepang International Circuit.
A reminder that Lewis Hamilton will be investigated after the session today for an incident with Gabriel Bortoleto.
Free Practice 2 has come to an end, with Charles Leclerc and Ferrari at the top of the timesheets at the end of the opening day at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
It was the Brazilian driver who caused the Virtual Safety Car after stopping on track after 'not a normal' incident that could have involved his gearbox!
With two minutes left on the clock, the Virtual Safety Car is out as marshals are on track at Turn 8.
Still no soft tyre for Max Verstappen in Free Practice 2, mas he has spent the entire session on the medium tyres.
With under 15 minutes left in the session, Charles Leclerc still leads ahead of Isack Hadjar, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton.
After having a small battle on track for several laps, Bortoleto has finally passed Lindblad. Racing Bulls and Audi will have learnt a lot from their practice fight.
Gabriel Bortoleto ran off track between Turns 3 and 4 whilst chasing down Arvid Lindblad, and his Audi bottomed out on the grass.
The incident between Lewis Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto will be investigated after the session.
Here is the top ten at the halfway point:
Lewis Hamilton has now come on the radio and stated that he can't see through his right mirror, which explains why he did not see Bortoleto.
Lewis Hamilton was on a cooldown lap and blocked Gabriel Bortoleto...
Charles Leclerc is now at the top of the timesheets, with Lando Norris in second place and Max Verstappen in third.
Mercedes has arrived in Malaysia with new upgrades for the Bahrain Grand Prix...
Liam Lawson has jumped into the top five as he now sits in fifth, and is 0.711 seconds off of Verstappen's fastest lap time.
A lot of teams and drivers have switched to the soft tyres in the early stages of this session, in case rain hits the circuit later on in FP2.
Charles Leclerc had a moment at the final corner, but managed to keep his Ferrari on track!
After 15 minutes, here is how the top five look in FP2:
A lot of slower laps during the opening stages of this session, as drivers continue to manage temperatures.
In the very early stages of this session, Max Verstappen is at the top of the timesheets with medium tyres on his Red Bull.
There may be rain during this session, but at the moment it is still dry...
The second Free Practice session has begun at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
We are minutes away from the start of Free Practice 2 at the Sepang International Circuit.