F1 Malaysia: Fernando Alonso declares Aston Martin 'miracle’ after season-best result at Bahrain Grand Prix

Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Fernando Alonso declares Aston Martin 'miracle’ after season-best result at Bahrain Grand Prix

A great day for Aston Martin

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson F1 Editor

Motorsport journalist covering F1 since 2024

Saturday 3 October 2026 15:55

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It's been a tough old season for Aston Martin, so much so that Fernando Alonso was ready to declare a miracle after he achieved a season-best qualifying result at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

In Saturday's qualifying session, which was topped by Red Bull star Max Verstappen, both Aston Martin cars made it out of Q2 for the first time this season, with Alonso having only achieved that feat once previously at the Hungarian Grand Prix back in July.

Q3 proved a step too far away, but still, Aston Martin will be delighted, with Stroll's P14 and Alonso's P12 representing both of their best qualifying results in 2026.

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Well, mostly delighted. In a brutally honest analysis of his afternoon at Sepang, Alonso was keen to point out that the car still has major weaknesses.

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Fernando Alonso: Miracle Aston Martin are competing

Earlier this week, team-mate Stroll suggested that the Honda power unit was costing the team two seconds per lap and Alonso's comments also took aim at their power deficit, calling it a miracle that they can even compete with their rivals.

"In the first few laps, we might lose positions on the straights to our main rivals, and then we can’t overtake them because we don’t have straight-line speed," Alonso told Spanish outlet AS when asked if he could score points on Sunday.

"And we’re also putting a strain on the tyres," he added. "It’s a miracle we’re even competing against cars faster than ours."

Alonso: Points aren't feasible

Aston Martin's lack of power is why Alonso does not feel that points are on the cards on Sunday, despite starting just two places outside of the top 10.

“I’d say points aren’t feasible, looking at the whole season. Why would we be in the points considering how the season has gone?" Alonso asked.

"We’re less competitive, and up until Saturday, the weekend went well for us, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. There are fast cars starting from behind with penalties [Colapinto and Lindblad] and they’ll be coming in strong."

F1 qualifying results - 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Here is how the full F1 grid qualified at Sepang on Saturday afternoon.

F1 Qualifying Results - Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia
Pos	Driver	Team	Gap
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:35.130s
2	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.298s
3	* Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+0.428s
4	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+0.501s
5	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.536s
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.627s
7	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+0.632s
8	George Russell	Mercedes	+0.741s
9	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+2.080s
10	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+2.543s
11	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	Eliminated in Q2
12	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	Eliminated in Q2
13	Carlos Sainz	Williams	Eliminated in Q2
14	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	Eliminated in Q2
15	** Franco Colapinto	Alpine	Eliminated in Q2
16	*** Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	Eliminated in Q2
17	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	Eliminated in Q1
18	Oliver Bearman	Haas	Eliminated in Q1
19	Esteban Ocon	Haas	Eliminated in Q1
20	Alexander Albon	Williams	Eliminated in Q1
21	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	Eliminated in Q1
22	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	Eliminated in Q1

*Isack Hadjar has a five-place grid penalty due to taking a new internal combustion engine (ICE).

**Franco Colapinto has a 15-place grid penalty, ten due to taking a new internal combustion engine (ICE) and five for causing a collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out.

***Arvid Lindblad has a 30-place grid penalty due to multiple changes to his power unit.

Written by

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson - F1 Editor

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F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Bahrain Grand Prix