Alonso hailed as “the master of chaos” after Sepang drive

“Alonso is the master of chaos” was the phrase that summed up a performance to remember after the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang. In a radio conversation after the race, Oscar Piastri’s engineer told his driver: “You heard that right, yes. Alonso is P8.” The reply from McLaren was brief: “Always, he’s the master of chaos.”

Alonso made the most of a weekend in which Aston Martin offered greater assurances. At Sepang, despite the AMR26’s deficit of close to 20 km/h on the two long straights, the chassis and the driver’s performance changed the picture. The team had not brought a major upgrade since those in Hungary and the Netherlands, but Alonso made a difference through his management of tyre wear and his reading of the race. At one point, Aston and Alonso executed their plan without another mistake.

The driver also acknowledged a misjudgement after passing Hamilton: “I felt good, I passed Hamilton… but it wasn’t the right decision. I was very slow on the slicks.” He said that “there won’t be many weekends like this, and you can’t make mistakes.”

Looking ahead, Alonso said he was optimistic: “This is a track that suits our characteristics better than Malaysia. This weekend’s performance is encouraging as we look to repeat it… or improve.” He added that he was looking forward to the five-day wait before qualifying.