Verstappen leads Ferraris in second Bahrain GP practice session
Red Bull's Dutch driver clocked 1min 31.936sec before Leclerc managed a fastest lap that was 0.087s off the pace, with Ferrari team-mate Sainz jumping to third later on at 0.584 sec.
Mercedes' George Russell was fourth while Fernando Alonso was fifth for Alpine.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, hampered by a brake problem, was ninth fastest.
The seven-time world champion wound up 1.2 seconds adrift of Verstappen who ended the Briton's reign at last season’s furious finale in Abu Dhabi.
Earlier France's Pierre Gasly set the pace for AlphaTauri in the first practice session of 2022.