Aston Martin puts both cars in Q2, without a new technical breakthrough

Aston Martin put both cars into Q2 for the first time this season. Fernando Alonso will start 12th and Lance Stroll 14th. Alonso notably beat Carlos Sainz, although Colapinto and Lindblad failing to set a time in Q2 also helped both Aston Martins’ final positions in that session.

The Spaniard does not present this result as the product of a new upgrade. He says his car has been unchanged since Budapest and mainly attributes the relative improvement to Sepang’s characteristics, which suit it better than the recent circuits. The conclusion is therefore a better match between car and track, not a technical problem suddenly solved.

The position nevertheless opens up a chance of points. Alonso hopes for a clean race to make the most of starting closer to the top 10. After the recent difficulties, the task is now to turn this encouraging qualifying result into a full-race performance, without treating one Saturday as proof of a lasting recovery.