Fernando Alonso and the engine: “It is our best weekend, but if you lose positions on the straights and cannot pass due to lack of top speed, your race is compromised”

Fernando Alonso returned to get the most out of your Aston Martin in the F1 2026 Bahrain GP in Malaysia classification which takes place this weekend at the Sepang Circuit. The Asturian finished 12th with an AMR26 which performed better than expected on this track, being able to make up for its lack of top speed on the straight with its performance on curves. That allowed Fernando Alonso to be 12th, three tenths behind Stroll, who was 14th.

For the first time this year, both Aston Martins moved into Q2 and that speaks for itself about the step forward of the car on this type of circuit, the same car that in Baku was in the last positions, which shows how Fernando’s expectations can vary from one track to another just due to the characteristics of the track and the importance of the straights due to the great lack of top speed of his Honda engine.

“It has been good, obviously our best weekend in terms of car performance, with both of us in Q2 for the first time this year, 1.5 seconds behind the leader. It has been a step forward, without a doubt, in terms of competitiveness, the car is the same as the last four races since Budapest, so it depends a lot on the track,” he reflected in statements after qualifying to the written press, as reported by the ‘Motorsport.com’ portal.

“Depending on the number of straights we can be more or less competitive, but there is nothing new in that aspect. We simply have to take advantage of the opportunities when the weekend arrives and, hopefully, tomorrow we can have a clean race,” he explained.

He thinks the points will be very difficult without a straight point

Fernando Alonso He was satisfied with the good pace of his car, waiting to see if the degradation of the car is as good as seen in Zandvoort, something that could put him fully in the fight for points. However, Fernando does not believe that it will be possible.

For now, he keeps his feet on the ground, warning of the many positions he could lose at the beginning of the race, when all the cars are grouped together, on the final backstretch in the first turn and when they pass through the main straight for the first time.

And in classification, according to data from the ‘Formula-Timer’ portal, The two Aston Martins were the slowest cars by far at the top speed detection point. There, Stroll clocked 304 km/h. Alonso, 305 km/h, both very far from the 329 km/h that Bottas set with his Ferrari engine (Cadillac). Alonso stayed at 24 km/h from that reference at the top with its engine Sling. Or 20 km/h from the 35 km/h set by Lawson and Bearman.

Gasly clocked 324 km/h, or Hamilton’s Ferrari, 316. Of course, it was striking to see that the Mercedes only clocked 306 km/h (Antonelli) and 309 (Russell), of course, with a Mercedes engine that always manages the electrical energy wonderfully.

With these data, Fernando Alonso believes that he does not have to think about the points.

“I would say no. If we look at the season as a whole, why should we be in the points tomorrow? We are less competitive and I think that, so far, it has been a good weekend for us, but we must keep our feet on the ground. There are fast cars that start behind us, some with penalties, that will come back strong tomorrow,” he explained.

“In the first laps of the race we could lose many positions on the straights against our main rivals and then we will not be able to overtake them, either due to lack of top speed or because we wear out the tires, So it would be almost a miracle if we were fighting against cars much faster than ours.“he added, referring to Lindblad, who comes last due to a penalty, like Colapinto (penultimate due to a penalty).

Alonso will have to try to defend himself in curves, managing to escape in them to defend himself in straights, although it will be complicated. And above all, what can put you in the fight is less degradation with a good strategy, especially due to the many seconds that are lost in such a long pit lane.

“If you start ahead of them and open a gap, you can manage the tires and have a clean race, but if you stay behind because you lose positions in the first straights and then you can’t pass due to lack of top speed, then your race is seriously compromised.“he said about it.

“What we achieve in the race will depend on many factors, so we will try to do a good job. And, of course, have fun. It’s much better to start 12th than 21st, so we’ll try to enjoy it.”commented Fernando, who highlighted that he managed to be 12th without yet having optimal confidence to attack the curves due to the engine and the gear changes: “The handling has not been easy.”