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Formula 1 had still not run a wet session or wet race under the 2026 regulations by round 16, even after several rain threats, and Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia has emerged as the key venue for the series to learn how the new wet-weather rules behave. The FIA has increased intermediate tire blanket temperatures for wet conditions, capped electrical power in the wet and banned boost mode, part of a broader effort to manage racing in rain.

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly said Sepang would be the easiest place for a wet race this season because the circuit is rough, hot and has enough elevation change to help clear standing water. Pirelli chief engineer Simone Berra called it the perfect circuit for gathering wet-tire data, saying Malaysia offers different challenges from cold venues such as Montreal. Berra said overheating could become the bigger problem if rain stopped quickly, and he said full wet tires could be the preferred race tire in a heavy Malaysian downpour.

Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli also backed Sepang as the best track to test the 2026 cars in the rain. He said the circuit’s open tarmac reduces standing water and aquaplaning risk, and that it would be quite OK in normal wet conditions, though heavy rain could change that. Antonelli and teammate George Russell said tire overheating and degradation would be a major issue if the race stayed dry in the hot conditions, and early dry practice suggested high tire wear, with Mercedes hit especially hard.

Lance Stroll received two FIA warnings after stewards found he drove unnecessarily slowly in both Q1 and Q2 during Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying. The investigation focused on his failure to follow the race director’s instructions, and stewards said his car exceeded the maximum permitted SC2 to SC1 time on each occasion. They decided a warning was the appropriate sanction after summoning Stroll and an Aston Martin representative for a hearing at 17:30 local time in Malaysia.

Stroll and Aston Martin argued that the team’s power unit configuration made the out-laps difficult to manage. The stewards said that compliance with the instructions was still possible. Stroll was investigated alongside the team after qualifying, while Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull.

The outcome came during Aston Martin’s best qualifying performance of the season, with Fernando Alonso qualifying 12th and Stroll 14th. It was the first time this year that both Aston Martins reached Q2. Stroll said after qualifying that the circuit suited Aston Martin better because it had fewer straights and more corners, and that the team still lacked speed on the straights.

Aston Martin delivered its best qualifying performance of the Formula 1 season at Sepang, where Fernando Alonso lined up 12th and Lance Stroll 14th after both cars reached Q2 for the first time in 2026. The result marked a rare bright spot after a difficult start to the year and came after both drivers advanced through Q1 on merit, with their final positions also shaped by penalties and non-attempted laps from other drivers.

Alonso said Aston Martin was about 1.5 seconds off the front in Q2, its closest gap of the season, but said the AMR26 still lacked straight-line speed. He said the car was unchanged from the previous four rounds and dismissed realistic hopes of scoring points on Sunday, warning the team could lose positions early in the race. Stroll said Sepang’s shorter straights and more corners suited the car, and that Aston Martin would likely struggle again at tracks with long straights.

Max Verstappen took pole position for Red Bull, his first of 2026 and the first for a non-Mercedes-powered car this season, with Lewis Hamilton second in his Ferrari. Aston Martin still faced race-day concerns over heat, tire degradation and a possible late-rain threat, even as Mike Krack described the performance as a rare positive and Honda engineer Shintaro Orihara said the package was working as expected after energy-management and driveability improvements.

George Russell said Mercedes’ major upgrade package failed to deliver in Malaysian Grand Prix qualifying, with the team producing its worst one-lap performance of the season at the hot, abrasive Sepang circuit, the first Formula 1 race in Malaysia since 2017. Russell said he could not explain the drop-off and called the session strange and bad. Reports varied on his exact grid slot, but most placed him seventh after Isack Hadjar’s penalty moved Kimi Antonelli up to third, while Max Verstappen took pole and Lewis Hamilton qualified second.

Russell said Mercedes never matched Red Bull’s pace from Friday and made no progress through the weekend as other teams improved. He said the upgrade, which included floor and rear-suspension changes and had been presented as worth up to three tenths a lap, did not produce the expected pace. Mercedes also struggled with tire degradation and overheating in second practice, where Russell and Antonelli finished seventh and eighth and both failed to complete strong soft-tyre flying laps.

Russell said Sunday’s race should be a different story because heavy tire wear could make race pace more important than qualifying. He said all three tire compounds were viable and believed Mercedes could still fight for the podium. Russell also said the team needed overnight setup changes to close the gap, and he hoped the tire situation could change if rain arrived later in the weekend.

McLaren left qualifying at Sepang with clear concerns over its pace after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri lined up sixth and seventh, both more than six tenths off Max Verstappen’s pole time. Norris described the car as “just slow” after saying a power unit issue and a straight-line speed deficit cost him time on the long straights, while Piastri said a lack of grip through Turn 2 on his final Q3 lap prevented him from improving. Andrea Stella also said Norris’ car continued to suffer in a straight line.

Norris was 0.627 seconds behind Verstappen and just 0.005 seconds ahead of Piastri, who had been fourth after the opening Q3 runs before failing to improve on his last attempt. Both McLaren cars are set to move up one place on the grid after Isack Hadjar received a five-place penalty for changing engine components. Verstappen took pole, and for the first time in 2026 no Mercedes-powered car started from the front.

The qualifying setback came after a mixed Friday for McLaren, which struggled in FP1 when Piastri was 11th and Norris 12th on a low-grip, rougher-than-expected track. The team recovered in FP2, with Norris third and Piastri sixth, and both drivers said they had made progress. Piastri still said McLaren was a step behind the front-runners, while Norris said the race would be long and that pit stops and position changes could still offer opportunities. McLaren remained optimistic about its race pace, with Piastri saying strategy and tire degradation could play major roles.