Max Verstappen topped FP1 at Sepang, but in FP2 he stayed on the medium compound for the entirety of the session.
Verstappen’s Medium‑Compound Choice
While Charles Leclerc and teammate Sacha Hadjar slipped down into soft‑tyre simulations, the Dutchman remained on a long medium‑run. “I wanted to do a long run in case there was some rain coming in,” Verstappen explained.
No rainfall materialised, and FP2 finished dry. Leclerc secured the fastest lap on softs at 1:37.528, had Hadjar close behind at 1:37.627, and Verstappen recorded 1:37.785 on the harder tyre—0.257 seconds slower overall. With his performance in FP1 nearly four tenths clear of George Russell, some suggested he could have topped the track again.
Track Thermal Trends and Degradation Concerns
Red Bull used the long medium runs to assess tyre degradation under the hot, humid conditions that prompted the FIA to declare a heat hazard. “We had a decent start, but the track is really hot, a lot of degradation, so a lot of things to figure out,” Verstappen said.
When asked if the team was truly progressing after two presentable sessions, he admitted the higher temperatures in FP2 made it difficult to gauge improvement. “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,” he added.
Red Bull will need to refine race‑day tyre strategies once the programme opens, especially if the moisture swing at Sepang proves more significant than predicted.
Photo credit: Andy Hone / LAT Images via Getty Images
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