Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both reached Q2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, marking Aston Martin's first double Q2 advancement of the 2026 season. Alonso finished 12th in qualifying while Stroll will start 14th, with both drivers progressing from the opening qualifying segment together for the first time this year.
Alonso attributed the improved performance to Sepang's circuit characteristics rather than car development, noting the chassis remains unchanged since Aston Martin's major upgrade package at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He described their best weekend in terms of car performance with both cars finishing 1.5 seconds from the top of Q2, representing a clear step forward in competitiveness.
The two-time world champion explained that Aston Martin's relative performance depends heavily on track layout and the number of straights, making them more competitive at certain venues. He emphasized the importance of capitalizing on weekends when these characteristics align, though he remained realistic about points chances given faster cars starting behind them with penalties.
Alonso warned that tomorrow's race will likely see them lose positions on the straights to main competitors, making overtaking difficult due to their straight-line speed deficit. He described their ability to fight with much faster cars as miraculous, while Stroll received two separate warnings from stewards for not following race director instructions during qualifying.