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Global Motorsport • Independent Edition
The Paddock Post
Practice Friday Edition • Friday 2 October 2026 • No. 016
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Lead Story • Formula 1
Leclerc Tops a Tight Friday at Sepang as Mercedes Fluff Their Lines
Verstappen owned the first hour, Ferrari the second — and the two men fighting for the title went home seventh and eighth.
Formula 1's first Friday in Malaysia since 2017 ended with Charles Leclerc on top: a 1:37.528 in FP2, 0.099s clear of Isack Hadjar and 0.137s ahead of Lando Norris, with the top ten covered by barely a second. Max Verstappen, fastest in FP1 by nearly four tenths, was fourth in the evening on mediums.
Mercedes brought a big upgrade and left with homework: Russell and Antonelli both lost their soft-tyre laps in the final sector and ended seventh and eighth, Russell having also understeered over the pit-entry bollard. McLaren went from 11th and 12th at lunchtime to two cars in the top six.
Grid penalties are already in: Hadjar five places, Lindblad to the back, Colapinto 15 places. Antonelli leads Russell 302 to 236. Qualifying Saturday 08:00 UTC.
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Also Leading • WRC
Evans Pays for Sweeping the Road, and Sardinia's Title Decider Is Wide Open
Points leader Elfyn Evans is sixth after Friday, 56.6s behind rally leader Thierry Neuville. Oliver Solberg is the best-placed contender in third, 12.3s back; Sami Pajari is fifth. They came in on 230, 213 and 209 with 35 points available — and it all ends at Sunday's Power Stage, 12:15 UTC.
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Around the Paddock
MotoGP • Motegi Álex Márquez sets the Friday pace; points leader Martín only eighth Acosta second, Marc Márquez third; Nakagami out with a broken collarbone. |
NASCAR • Kansas Larson wins at Kansas and stretches his Chase lead to 26 Hamlin second in the standings, Bell 50 back. Las Vegas on Sunday. |
WEC • Fuji Toyota's fuel gamble turns a chaotic Fuji into a home win The No. 8 now leads the championship with two rounds left; Alpine second from pole. |
IndyCar • Silly season It's official: Lundgaard takes over Dixon's No. 9 at Ganassi Multi-year deal, alongside Palou and Kyffin Simpson. |
Formula 1 • Driver market Ocon: out at Haas, not out of F1 He wants a 2027 race seat; Haas and Racing Bulls are the only openings left. |
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F1 Drivers • Before Sepang
| 1. K. Antonelli | 302 |
| 2. G. Russell | 236 |
| 3. L. Hamilton | 199 |
| 4. L. Norris | 186 |
| 5. C. Leclerc | 179 |
| 6. M. Verstappen | 163 |
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Coming Up • All Times UTC
| MotoGP Japanese GP Sprint | Sat 3 Oct, 06:00 |
| F1 Bahrain GP Qualifying (Sepang) | Sat 3 Oct, 08:00 |
| MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix | Sun 4 Oct, 05:00 |
| F1 Bahrain Grand Prix (Sepang) | Sun 4 Oct, 07:00 |
| WRC Sardinia Power Stage | Sun 4 Oct, 12:15 |
| NASCAR South Point 400, Las Vegas | Sun 4 Oct, 21:30 |
| F1 Singapore GP Sprint | Sat 10 Oct, 09:00 |
| F1 Singapore Grand Prix | Sun 11 Oct, 12:00 |
| NASCAR Bank of America 400, Charlotte | Sun 11 Oct, 19:00 |
| WEC 6 Hours of Barcelona | Sun 18 Oct, 10:00 |
| F1 United States Grand Prix | Sun 25 Oct, 20:00 |
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The Paddock Post • F1, MotoGP, IndyCar, WEC, NASCAR & WRC.
Sources: Formula1.com, MotoGP.com, FIA WEC, WRC.com, NASCAR.com, Autosport, Motorsport.com, Speedcafe, Crash.net, RACER, Cycle News, Motorsport Week, On3 & wire reports.
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