Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin-Honda): Controversy over Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

At last, a moment of success for Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin-Honda: the indomitable Spaniard fought his way to a fine eighth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, his third points-scoring finish of 2026 following Monaco (tenth) and Zandvoort (ninth).

However, the 2005 and 2006 Formula 1 champion was not happy after the turbulent World Championship race at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The way in which the FIA handled the chaotic first part of the race left a bitter taste in the Asturian’s mouth – as numerous cars sputtered or came to a standstill.

When Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari came to a halt and half the field was on the verge of lapping the Briton, race control brought the chaos to a halt with a red flag.

The driver, who has competed in 441 Grand Prix races, levelled serious accusations after the race: “They need to give us an explanation, because this year we’ve often broken down during a race, and yet the Grand Prix has never been interrupted because of our breakdown.”

“Hamilton was standing at the side of the track, and they presumably had to stop the race so that he could resume his position. I find that a bit strange, but I suppose the FIA will explain it to us in Singapore. Either way, there’s too much technology in this generation of racing cars, and the spectators can’t appreciate that.”

Topic of the week

A stuttering start to the Bahrain Grand Prix: the FIA narrowly avoids a fiasco like the one in Indianapolis in 2005

Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

Mathias Brunner

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11.10.2026 - 11:15

Speaking about his own race in P8, the 32-time Grand Prix winner said: “In races like this, there are always safety car periods. When the track is in that condition, some drivers often have dry tyres and others intermediates, but there’s always an incident that brings the field back together. I started on slicks, which was the wrong choice, but I knew I had to try to stay on the same lap as the leader and wait for a safety car, and that’s exactly how it turned out.”

Despite his impressive drive, Alonso said: “I’d actually expected a bit more from our car in terms of performance. We were doing well in the race, but there was a lot of oversteer.”

“During the pit stop, we readjusted the front wing slightly for that reason, but it was still a tough job. I still need to watch the race back properly, but in the final laps, Norris and Hulkenberg were clearly struggling. I reckon they’d run their battery flat and needed a few laps to recharge it. I, on the other hand, had it set to maximum and made full use of it on the straights towards the end of the Grand Prix.”