Fernando Alonso’s eighth place at Sepang came on a weekend when the FIA’s specific ERS-K energy-management rules reduced electrical power to 250 kW across large sections of the circuit. That condition helped soften Honda’s power-unit deficit, but Aston Martin’s Malaysian performance revealed something more: following the major revision introduced in Budapest, the AMR26B is finally beginning to show tangible signs of progress.
At first glance, Fernando Alonso’s eighth place could appear to be simply another result produced by an unusual race that began in wet conditions and was heavily influenced by Safety Cars. However, the AMR26B was competitive during the low-grip opening phase and continued to show respectable pace even after the circuit dried. According to sources close to Honda, the regulations governing ERS-K deployment provide an important first explanation.
FIA ERS-K rules reduced Honda’s power disadvantage at Sepang
In the technical document distributed by the FIA before the Malaysian weekend, an alternative power curve known as Alt 1 was specified for the race. Compared with the Base configuration, which allows 350 kW of deployment, the alternative curve limited the electrical component to 250 kW. At Sepang, this mode had to be used between Turns 4 and 7 and again between Turns 9 and 14. These were two extensive sections of the circuit, covering respectively approximately 1,550 to 2,500 metres and 3,100 to 4,100 metres of the lap.
The 250 kW limitation was not simply imposed because the race was wet, although such a restriction was also used following an FIA communication during the event. Alt 1 was already part of the planned energy configuration for the race regardless of the circuit progressively drying.
In other parts of the lap, the Base curve remained available and, under the appropriate conditions, so did the Overtake setting. However, for almost two kilometres of each lap, electrical performance was still restricted even once the track had become dry.
Why the 250 kW limit helped Aston Martin and Honda
One of the clearest weaknesses of the original AMR26 has been the overall performance of the Honda power unit this season. Monza demonstrated particularly clearly how much the car suffered when lap time depended heavily on straight-line performance. Honda has continued working throughout the season on both power delivery and driveability, introducing a new turbocharger between Spain and Baku as part of its attempts to improve the package. The Japanese manufacturer has also continued searching for broader gains, with further Honda engine development work taking place at Sakura.
Restricting the electrical component to around 250 kW for a significant portion of the Sepang lap therefore reduced the gap to the more competitive power units considerably. The rain amplified that effect during the opening laps. When grip is limited, having additional power available becomes less important if it cannot be transferred effectively to the asphalt.
Fernando Alonso, who started on Medium tyres, was consequently one of the most effective drivers among those who remained on slicks. Lando Norris remained the benchmark on the same compound, but Fernando Alonso managed to keep drivers who would normally have faster cars behind him, including Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari SF-26.
Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris offer revealing race comparison
The comparison between Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris becomes particularly interesting after the opening wet phase. Both switched to Hard tyres on lap nine and completed a long section of the race using the same compound, with broadly similar fuel loads and under the same track evolution.
Traffic prevents every lap from being treated as a direct comparison, but the overall gap was surprisingly small. Across the usable laps of their first stint on the Hard tyre, Fernando Alonso remained on average only a few tenths behind Lando Norris. More revealing is where that time was lost. When the two areas in which the FIA prescribed the Alt 1 curve are separated from the remainder of the circuit, the Aston Martin-McLaren gap tended to shrink specifically across the almost two kilometres affected by the electrical-power restriction.
Aston Martin loses only around five hundredths in restricted zones
The period between laps 28 and 30 provides one of the clearest comparisons because both drivers had sufficient space ahead and tyres of comparable age. Fernando Alonso lost, on average, slightly less than three tenths of a second per lap to Lando Norris. However, in the sections affected by the Alt 1 power curve, the deficit fell to only around five hundredths of a second, with most of the overall difference being generated elsewhere around the circuit.
That figure cannot directly isolate the contribution made by the ERS-K because aerodynamics, traction and cornering performance also influence those sectors. Nevertheless, the correlation is significant: precisely where electrical power was restricted by the regulations, the performance gap between Aston Martin and McLaren became noticeably smaller.
AMR26B improvement remains visible once Sepang dries
The comparison becomes even more interesting once the track dries because Aston Martin did not immediately fall back to the performance levels seen earlier in the season. Fernando Alonso continued to lap close to Lando Norris during the closing stages.
On lap 54, the McLaren recorded a 1:39.970 compared with the Aston Martin’s 1:40.353. On the final lap, Fernando Alonso was actually slightly faster, recording a 1:40.559 against Lando Norris’s 1:40.718. Those individual laps cannot be converted into an absolute measure of the two cars’ relative performance, but they nevertheless show an AMR26B capable of remaining within a similar performance window to a McLaren even once the asphalt had dried.
Aston Martin progress cannot be explained by ERS-K alone
It would therefore be wrong to attribute Aston Martin’s improvement solely to the 250 kW deployment used in the wet and across a significant portion of the circuit in dry conditions.
The AMR26 seen at Sepang is no longer the fundamentally flawed car that began the season. The B-specification introduced at Budapest included major revisions to the floor, diffuser and aerodynamic balance, and has already made the car more usable and more competitive in the midfield. Results remain inconsistent, particularly at circuits where power-unit performance has a greater influence, but Aston Martin’s development direction finally appears to be moving the right way.
Qualifying corner performance supports Aston Martin progress
The car’s behaviour through the corners during qualifying supports the same conclusion. Ferrari set the benchmark through the more technical sections at Sepang, but Fernando Alonso did not lose time uniformly around the lap.
Aston Martin’s deficit was most visible through the more demanding complexes such as Turns 5-6 and Turns 12-14. In other areas, however, the AMR26B remained surprisingly close to the Ferrari SF-26.
Aston Martin still does not have a car capable of producing the downforce and aerodynamic efficiency of the leading machines, but the underlying aerodynamic platform now appears considerably more solid than it did at the beginning of the season. Sepang’s ERS-K regulations helped reduce Honda’s weakness, but the Malaysian weekend also provided evidence that the progress made with the AMR26B itself is genuine.
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