Fernando Alonso scored Aston Martin F1 Team’s best result of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Malaysia, beating Lando Norris to eighth position.
Alonso
The Adrian Newey-designed, Honda-powered AMR26 was more competitive than ever before, following its earlier struggles, at Sepang; Fernando Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll both reached Q2, taking the 12th and 14th spots on the grid.
Albon
Starting the race on slicks did not pay off, but the first safety car brought Fernando Alonso back into the game, and he overtook Sergio Perez and Alexander Albon straight away to climb from 17th to 14th as Gabriel Bortoleto pitted.
The two-time world champion maintained his progress after his second pitstop, passing Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Arvid Lindblad to reach the top 10 on merit, albeit 17 seconds away from eighth-placed Lando Norris.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas indirectly helped him to gain those last two spots, as George Russell retired with a technical issue and Lando Norris went off in safety car conditions, surprised by other cars slowing down for the stricken Silver Arrow.
Fernando Alonso is 17th in the drivers' championship with 7 points.
Source: Motorsport
