Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin turn wild Sepang rain into P8 finish

Fernando Alonso has delivered Aston Martin their first points since August with a brilliant P8 finish on a chaotic, rain-soaked Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Things looked bleak at the start, with the Spaniard lining up down in P12 and fully expecting to get eaten alive on the straights during the early laps before tumbling out of contention entirely.

Then the weather intervened in the best possible way. Both Aston Martin cars have suffered regular retirements throughout 2026, and Alonso couldn't resist a mischievous dig after a grid reset following early trouble on the formation lap, noting that with his fifty percent DNFs this year, nobody ever stopped the race for them.

When the lights finally went out, the circuit was damp but drying. Aston Martin made the aggressive call to bolt on medium slick tyres, joining McLaren, Ferrari, Alpine, Audi, Cadillac, and one Haas. It proved to be a terrible gamble at first. While team mate Lance Stroll quickly pitted to switch over to intermediates, Alonso dug his heels in and stayed out on slicks, praying for a Safety Car to compress the field and offer a cheap tyre change. He even managed to muscle his way past his former McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton as both drivers wrestled for traction on the treacherous surface.

That prayed-for Safety Car eventually arrived. Once racing resumed, Alonso put together a clean, steady charge through the pack. He muscled past Arvid Lindblad right before a late VSC transitioned into a second full Safety Car period. Late misfortune for George Russell and a mishap for Lando Norris handed Alonso further gifts, promoting him to P8. He defended that position masterfully after the final restart, keeping Norris firmly at bay all the way to the checkered flag.

Aston Martin Chief Trackside Officer Mike Krack admitted the team made a mistake with their initial rubber, noting that while fifty percent of the field misjudged the conditions, they ultimately got lucky when the Safety Car wiped away their deficit. Krack kept his feet firmly on the ground, pointing out that just weeks ago in Madrid and Baku the team was nowhere. Still, after enduring a brutal season, he acknowledged that the squad needs to take a breath and appreciate a rare positive moment.

Alonso himself credited the venue for their sudden upturn in competitiveness, pointing out that both cars reached Q2 and fought hard in the midfield. With some hope for next weekend in Singapore, the veteran was just glad they capitalized when a chaotic afternoon opened the door.