HONDA The Power of Dreams

Qualifying|12th|1 min 37.220s

Qualifying|14th|1 min 37.566s

Round 16 of the 2026 F1™ season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, took place at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The Bahrain GP, originally scheduled for April, was unable to take place due to the global situation, but was rescheduled as Round 16 with the venue moved to Malaysia. This marked the first F1 event at Sepang in nine years, since 2017. Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team (AMAF1) had struggled at the high-speed street circuit in the previous round, but at the more balanced permanent circuit, the team completed extensive running in free practice to assess the progress of its increasingly refined car. Fernando Alonso delivered a promising result in FP3, finishing 12th.

Qualifying for Round 16, the Bahrain GP in Malaysia, took place on Saturday, October 3.

Q1 began at 4:00 pm local time in hot conditions, with sunny skies, an air temperature of 33°C and a track temperature of 58°C.

During the 18-minute Q1 session, Alonso used two sets of soft tires for his qualifying runs. He recorded 1 min 37.914s on his first set before improving to 1 min 37.721s on his second. Like Alonso, Lance Stroll used two sets of tires for two runs. After recording 1 min 39.113s on his first set, he made a significant improvement to 1 min 37.729s on his second, just 0.008s behind Alonso. Alonso ended Q1 in 14th and Stroll in 15th, sending both AMAF1 cars through to Q2 for the first time this season.

The 15-minute Q2 session began at 4:25 pm. AMAF1 adopted a strategy of conserving soft tires, with Stroll making his first run on a used set and recording 1 min 38.807s. Alonso used a new set of soft tires for a single run. Taking to the track toward the end of the session, he recorded a strong 1 min 37.220s, improving on his Q1 time by half a second. Stroll also improved his personal best with a 1 min 37.566s lap on new soft tires.

Alonso ultimately qualified 12th and Stroll 14th. Although neither advanced to Q3, the result marked AMAF1’s best qualifying performance of the season.

“It was our best Qualifying so far this season and we were about 1.5 seconds from the front in Q2 which is the closest we've been all year.

“The car is the same as previous races and it's clear we lack performance on the straights, but we do seem to be better suited to this track.

“Tire management will be a big factor tomorrow, so let's try have some fun and see what we can do in the race.”

“We made it through to Q2 and qualified in P14. That's our most competitive result of this year so far.

“It clicked for me during the second push lap in Q1 and came together much better. I felt more comfortable in the car during Qualifying than in the practice sessions, although there were some mistakes in Q2 and I think we could've gotten slightly more out of it. But we will see what tomorrow brings.

“I didn't do many long runs on Friday and it will be tricky conditions with the hot temperatures, the track surface and the tire degradation.”

“A positive result today, with Fernando in P12 and Lance in P14. Both cars made it into Q2, giving us our best qualifying performance of the year.

“We've enjoyed coming to Sepang, and the low-grip conditions seem to have slightly changed the pecking order, allowing us to be more competitive from the start of practice yesterday.

“Tomorrow will be a tough challenge, with the hot conditions and a high possibility of rain showers late in the afternoon. We need to stay focused, execute well and maximize every opportunity that comes our way."

“Today we accumulated as much mileage as possible, which is especially important given the track has an interesting surface. Temperatures are very warm in Malaysia, so cooling has been a challenge in these conditions. We will work with AMAF1 to tackle this in the best possible way, and we will also consider some data changes for tomorrow.

“Energy management-wise, we adjusted throughout the two sessions, and we’ve been able to enhance what we had originally obtained on the sim before coming here. For qualifying, we need to continue to optimize further, so it’s a busy night ahead for everyone.”

“After FP2 we did a lot of data analysis alongside HRC Sakura with all the feedback helping us prepare for FP3 and then qualifying. Even in this morning’s session we were working to make the necessary energy management and drivability improvements, especially for the updated turbocharger. Our package overall is working as expected, despite the hot and humid conditions.

“The qualifying result is a step in the right direction for Honda, with it being the first time that both cars have made it into Q2.

“Our attention now shifts to preparing for all eventualities tomorrow, including the threat of rain. We will be ready for all racing scenarios to maximize our results.”