Leclerc finished fourth in the opening session before setting the fastest time in second practice. Ferrari Teammate Lewis Hamilton placed sixth and fifth across the two sessions.

However, Leclerc cautioned that the timesheets did not accurately reflect the competitive order because Red Bull and Mercedes failed to complete representative soft-tyre laps.

“It’s been a very, very difficult day overall,” Leclerc said. “The track conditions were very tricky. The track was quite dirty and very slippery.”

Leclerc said conditions were likely to change significantly before qualifying as more running improved grip around the Sepang International Circuit. “We’ve got to be on the good side of things, anticipating that in the best possible way,” Leclerc said.

“Today hasn’t been a bad day. I felt quite good with the car, but I still feel like Red Bull is standing out this weekend so far.”

Leclerc said Isack Hadjar had made mistakes during the final part of a flying lap, while Max Verstappen had not completed a qualifying simulation on soft tyres. “I don’t think we are the most competitive,” Leclerc said.

Mercedes Drivers George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished seventh and eighth in second practice but were also unable to complete clean soft-tyre laps.

Mercedes brought a substantial upgrade package to Malaysia after establishing the strongest overall performance during the 2026 season.

“They don’t often get it wrong, so I wouldn’t underestimate them,” Leclerc said. “Once they put everything together, they’ll be very strong.”

Leclerc identified tyre management as Ferrari’s principal concern following high degradation during Friday’s running.

“The degradation is going to be the main talking point of the weekend,” Leclerc said. “That will make the race very interesting, and we need to be on top of that.”

Leclerc said minor performance differences through individual corners could substantially affect tyre wear over a race distance.

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur agreed that degradation would require greater attention than during recent race weekends. “Conditions are a bit extreme and, for everybody, it’s almost a new track,” Vasseur said.

“The track was quite poor in terms of grip today. It will probably improve tomorrow, which means that we need to anticipate everything.”

–F1/ChannelAfrica–