The full quota of cars is out on track as the weather radar shows the rain inching closer and closer. A few pit walls have already been on the phone to tell their drivers they're concerned about the changing conditions - so bank those laps as quick as you can.

Max Verstappen jumps to the top of the timesheets, again from Mercedes' George Russell, with a 1:37.785 on the medium C3 compound. Russell is also on the yellow rubber, 0.235 seconds behind.

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George Russell, who has never driven the Malaysian circuit, called it a "very cool" track in first practice, and it's a big favourite among fans, too.

What are your favourite memories of the Sepang International Circuit? It was added to the calendar in 1999 and had quite a few dramatic moments before it left us following the 2017 grand prix nine years ago.

Send your messages through using the 'get involved' button on the live page.

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Franco Colapinto already had a five-place grid drop this weekend for his collision with Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly in Baku, but the Argentine driver, along with Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, is also taking an engine-related penalty in Malaysia.

Rookie Lindblad will be heading to the back of the grid with a 30-place drop, Colapinto gets an extra 10 places added to his five and Frenchman Hadjar will be moving five places along from his qualifying spot on Sunday.

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I don't think many drivers will be hanging around to get out this session. The wet stuff is on the way.

Second practice is green.

BBC Sounds

Harry Benjamin, Sam Bird and Andrew Benson are back with us for second practice, and there are a few ways you can tune in this morning.

You can either click the listen live tab at the top of this page, head over to BBC Sounds and search for Sports Extra if you need to pop out or you can ask your smart speaker to "play Sports Extra".

The clouds are turning quite dark over the track now, and this is the forecast for the rest of the late afternoon in Sepang. The conditions are still as sweaty as ever, and the track temperature is currently 61C, but the rain is creeping up on the circuit slowly.

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The forecast suggested Friday's practice sessions could see rain but so far, the skies have stayed dry over the Sepang circuit.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped the timesheets in an incident-free running, beating last week's Baku winner George Russell by 0.383 seconds in the upgraded Mercedes.

Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar was third fastest, 0.783secs off the Dutchman, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, championship leader Kimi Antonelli and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completing the top five.

Lorraine McKenna
BBC Sport Journalist

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Hello again, folks. Malaysia's first hour of hosting on behalf of the Bahrain Grand Prix went off without a hitch, so can the second session do the same in the humid conditions of the Sepang International Circuit?

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was the quickest man on track earlier on - just like he was nine years ago when he won here to claim the second of his now 71 career victories.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen topped the timesheets as Formula 1 returned to the Sepang track for the first time in nine years for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

Verstappen was 0.383 seconds quicker than George Russell, winner last week in Azerbaijan, in an upgraded Mercedes.

The second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar was third fastest, 0.783secs off the pace, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, split from his team-mate Lewis Hamilton by championship leader Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes.

Alpine's Pierre Gasly was seventh fastest, ahead of the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who will start from the back of the grid as a result of a grid penalty for using too many engine parts.

Hadjar also has a grid penalty - expected to be five places - for the same reason.

Read the full report here

Teams and drivers will have gathered plenty of data in that first practice session for this weekend's Bahrain race in Malaysia, so we should see some improvements when the second hour gets under way at 09:00 BST.

There were grumbles about tyre degradation - George Russell flagged late concerns to his Mercedes pit wall - but overall everyone will be pleased with clean running in dry conditions.

Time for breakfast then. Shall we come back together at 08:45?

See you shortly!

If you need something to listen to in between sessions this morning, head over to the BBC Sounds app and search for the Chequered Flag podcast or click the link above.

Harry Benjamin, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer and the BBC’s F1 correspondent Andrew Benson look ahead to the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, discuss why the race is happening and why Sepang is a driver favourite.

Harry speaks with Oscar Piastri about his McLaren struggles this season and why the new rules have meant he has had to adjust his driving style.

11. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

12. Lando Norris (McLaren)

13. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

15. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

16. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

17. Alex Albon (Williams)

18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

19. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

20. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

21. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

22. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:37.520

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.383

3. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.783

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.847

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.060

6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.070

7. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.195

8. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +1.586

9. Arvid Lindblad (Racng Bulls) +1.677

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +1.691

Esteban Ocon is looking for a slipstream boost behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz in the early parts of the lap. The Haas driver can't find a way past the Spaniard and after a few corners the Frenchman ends up on the kerb, kicking up some dust.

Will we ever see these 2026 cars in the rain? With eight minutes left of this first practice and the skies dry so far, we'll have to wait to see what the other sessions bring this weekend.

The likes of George Russell have switched back to the medium tyres now for the final laps out in Sepang, while Isack Hadjar, who returned to Red Bull last week and scored a podium finish, asks his pit wall: "Is there like a free air place on this massive track?!"

Matthew Pashley: Sepang is one of my favourite tracks. It's a proper racing track and I love it so much I specifically woke up early to catch this session.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:37.520

2. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.383

3. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.783

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.847

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.060

McLaren have been tinkering with Lando Norris' car during this first practice, making adjustments to their 'macarena' wing. The world champion was left down in the dumps in Azerbaijan, coming away with zero points after being taken out of the running during the first safety car restart by the ripple effect of Franco Colapinto's lock-up.

Norris made some heated comments after the race, suggesting Colapinto should receive a ban (the Argentine has received a five-place grid penalty for this weekend's grand prix). But on Monday, he said sorry for the remarks, adding he was "caught up in the heat of the moment".

As for today, he's down the pecking order after his first run on the softs and is 12th on the timesheets, more than a second off Max Verstappen's quickest time.

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James SB: 9 years too long to come back to Sepang. F1 has a habit of losing great tracks like Malaysia and Istanbul. Thankfully we are back and its gonna be a good one! Bring on Turkey next year as well.