Recent practice at Sepang shows a tightly contested field under 2026 regulations, with Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren, and Mercedes separated by under half a second in FP2. Charles Leclerc topped the session for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and McLaren’s Lando Norris, while Max Verstappen posted strong long-run pace on mediums despite skipping a full soft-tyre qualifying simulation. Mercedes’ upgrades produced mixed results, leaving the team just outside the top five. Pre-weekend constructors standings had Mercedes leading ahead of Ferrari and McLaren, yet the new power-unit and aero rules plus the abrasive, high-temperature track have compressed performance gaps. This parity, combined with limited prior data on the resurfaced circuit, keeps multiple teams in realistic contention for the constructor’s pole sitter.