Max Verstappen topped opening practice at Sepang International Circuit on Friday. He then finished fourth in FP2, after spending the whole session on the medium tyre. This update, published on 2 October 2026, explains the Verstappen FP2 tyre call and why he urged caution about reading too much into the times.
The choice was not about chasing lap time. Verstappen built a long run on mediums in case rain reached Sepang. The session stayed dry from start to finish. Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari set the pace in FP2, with Isack Hadjar second and Verstappen fourth.
Sepang practice and Verstappen’s running
Formula 1 returned to Sepang International Circuit for Friday practice, and Verstappen set the tone early by topping FP1. The heat at the circuit had already shaped the weekend, as our Sepang heat report covered. That heat fed directly into his thinking for the second session.
Leclerc’s Ferrari was fastest in FP2. Hadjar was second, and Verstappen came home fourth. His finishing position only told part of the story. He ran the entire session on the medium compound.
Why Verstappen stayed on the medium tyre
Verstappen stayed on the medium tyre for all of FP2 because he had planned a long run in case rain arrived at Sepang. The plan was about covering changeable weather, not a statement on Red Bull’s pace.
“I wanted to do a long run in case there was some rain coming in,” he said, explaining the thinking behind the call. The rain never came, and the session stayed dry throughout. Verstappen stuck with the plan anyway.
He said the hot track made life hard for everyone on Friday. “I think we had a decent start, but it’s tricky, the track is really hot, a lot of degradation, so a lot of things to figure out, but it’s been positive,” he said. High degradation in heat is a familiar problem in Formula 1, and our F1 technology story looked at that wider issue.
Asked if Red Bull had made progress, Verstappen held back from firm conclusions. “I mean, progress, it is difficult,” he said. “It was warmer again in FP2, different programs, so hard to say progress, but there’s still a lot of things to look at to try and understand better.”
What happens next
By Verstappen’s own account, what comes next is more work rather than firm answers. FP1 and FP2 ran in different conditions and on different programmes. That gap is the main reason he wants to wait before judging progress.
The search for clearer answers continues through the rest of practice at Sepang, ahead of qualifying and the race. Our Red Bull win chance piece looks at the team’s wider season picture, and our sim-rig explainer covers Verstappen’s recent preparation away from the circuit. Full detail on Friday’s running is in the original report.
