Alonso secures team’s first finish of the season at the Japanese GP
SuzukaThe Japanese Grand Prix, Round 3 of the Formula 1 season, took place on Sunday, March 29 at the Suzuka Circuit.
In today's home Grand Prix at Suzuka, Fernando Alonso started from P21 and climbed to P18, securing the team’s first chequered flag of the 2026 season. He made a strong start, overtaking Valtteri Bottas around the outside at Turn 1 before completing the move at Turn 2.
Lance Stroll, starting from P22, also gained a position on the opening lap with an overtake at Turn 6. Although he briefly lost the place at Spoon Curve, he reclaimed it on the main straight.
On lap 8, Alonso’s battery depleted on the main straight, allowing Stroll to move ahead before Turn 1. The pair then continued in formation until a Safety Car was deployed on lap 22 following Oliver Bearman’s crash. Both cars pitted at the end of that lap, switching from medium to hard tyres to fulfil the mandatory change of compound requirement. Alonso later returned to medium tyres and continued his race on this set.
At the restart on lap 28, both cars maintained position, but on lap 30 Stroll was instructed to pit again due to a car issue and subsequently retired in the garage. Alonso ran a largely solitary race thereafter. Despite an off at the final chicane on lap 50 after a long medium-tyre stint, he recovered to finish P18, achieving the team’s target of completing the race distance.
There will now be a break for the Formula 1 drivers, due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, with action resuming in Miami, United States on 1-3 May.
Finishing the race here in Suzuka today shows clear progress for the team, and that's a strong positive we should take from the weekend. While we didn't have the pace, it was still enjoyable to gain valuable mileage and to race with Lance. We'll now analyse the data across both Silverstone and Sakura and continue pushing development, so we have a better understanding heading into Miami.
Finishing the race here in Suzuka today shows clear progress for the team, and that's a strong positive we should take from the weekend. While we didn't have the pace, it was still enjoyable to gain valuable mileage and to race with Lance. We'll now analyse the data across both Silverstone and Sakura and continue pushing development, so we have a better understanding heading into Miami.
I was enjoying the race today, even though we were not competitive and battling for the last few positions. Suzuka is always a fun track to drive so it was a shame we couldn't make it to the end. We still need to investigate, but it looks like a water pressure issue on the ICE. I was having a fun race up until that point, defending from Fernando, but it's clear we have a lot of things to work on and need to find a lot of speed. We know the issues we have so it's about tackling those as quickly as we can.
I was enjoying the race today, even though we were not competitive and battling for the last few positions. Suzuka is always a fun track to drive so it was a shame we couldn't make it to the end. We still need to investigate, but it looks like a water pressure issue on the ICE. I was having a fun race up until that point, defending from Fernando, but it's clear we have a lot of things to work on and need to find a lot of speed. We know the issues we have so it's about tackling those as quickly as we can.
The objective today was to complete a race distance, which we achieved with Fernando in P18. That is a significant moment for the team and our technical partner, Honda, at their home race. We have shown reliability is improving, but the water pressure issue on the ICE of Lance’s car [on lap 30] shows there is still much work to be done. It’s also clear the performance level of our package is far from where it needs to be and we must work hard to deliver improvements. I want to thank the drivers for their determination and racing spirit today.
The objective today was to complete a race distance, which we achieved with Fernando in P18. That is a significant moment for the team and our technical partner, Honda, at their home race. We have shown reliability is improving, but the water pressure issue on the ICE of Lance’s car [on lap 30] shows there is still much work to be done. It’s also clear the performance level of our package is far from where it needs to be and we must work hard to deliver improvements. I want to thank the drivers for their determination and racing spirit today.
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