Report: A chaotic return to Malaysia ends in frustration for Alex

A rain-affected and eventful race saw Alex climb as high as P7 before a gearbox issue forced him to retire.

Published

04 OCT 2026

Est. reading time

3 min

Alex Albon’s Bahrain Grand Prix came to an unfortunate end at Sepang after a gearbox issue forced him to retire from the race.

The race was initially delayed due to heavy rain at Sepang, with the grid eventually preparing to get underway on Intermediate tyres. However, the first formation lap was interrupted when several cars experienced electrical issues, forcing the starting procedure to be suspended and the drivers to return to the pit lane. After a further delay, the grid headed out again before the race finally got underway, with Alex starting P18.

Alex made a brilliant start, climbing from P18 to P7 on the opening lap as several drivers on slicks struggled for grip. He settled inside the top 10 before being passed by Esteban Ocon on the following lap, dropping to P8.

Alex continued to run inside the points, holding P8 through the early stages before dropping to P9 on Lap 7. With the track continuing to dry, Alex made his first stop under the Safety Car on Lap 10, switching from intermediates to soft tyres and rejoining in P12.

Racing resumed at the end of Lap 12, with Alex moving into P13 before Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc passed him on Lap 14, dropping him to P15. Alex also reported concerns over his brakes during the opening stint, with the team confirming they were working as expected.

The race settled into a dry spell and Alex made his second stop on Lap 29, switching to Soft tyres and rejoining in P20. He then began to find some stronger pace, setting his quickest lap of the race at the time with a 1:42.284 on Lap 32.

After moving up to P19 following a pit stop for Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex found himself running alone on track, with a significant gap both ahead and behind.

Unfortunately, Alex’s race came to an early end shortly afterwards when he was forced to stop on track with a gearbox issue. It was a frustrating conclusion to an eventful race, particularly after Alex’s impressive opening laps in the difficult conditions.

Alex will now turn his attention to next weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, where he’ll look to bounce back on his honorary home race weekend.

“A tricky race. We were on the right tyre at the start, the call for inters was spot on, and it was nice to be in the mix early on. Then the track dried out and we lost a bit of ground.”

“The double stack didn't help, and with a flat spot on the softs we had to come in earlier than we wanted. We had a few issues throughout the race, including the brakes and a gearbox problem that ended our race.”

“It's unfortunate, but we're lacking overall performance right now, and that's what we're really focusing on in our debriefs. We just want a smooth weekend and a feeling of progress, and we'll keep working to get that.”

“I'm looking forward to Singapore, another home race for me, and hopefully we can fight further up the midfield."