Lance finishes P12 in rain-hit race in Malaysia

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team driver Lance Stroll had his best finish of the 2026 season so far, securing P12 in the Bahrain Grand Prix, which took place in Malaysia.

Heat and humidity throughout Friday

A heat hazard was put in place for the Bahrain Grand Prix, with high humidity and thunderstorms also forecast in Sepang. As a result, Free Practice conditions were hot and humid, and this continued throughout the weekend.

Lance spent Friday’s Free Practice sessions on the Medium and Soft compounds, setting 19 laps in FP1 and 26 laps in FP2.

The team then worked on analysing this data ahead of Saturday's sessions.

WATCH: 2026 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX FP1 HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday in Sepang

In the weekend’s final Free Practice session, Lance waited for grip levels to improve before beginning his programme of preparing for Qualifying on the Soft tyre.

Lance felt more comfortable in the car during Qualifying, and his second push lap of Q1 came together well. A time of 1:37.729 saw Lance through to Q2.

Achieving his best Qualifying result of the year, he concluded in P14.

WATCH: 2026 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

A delayed started and Lance's best 2026 result to date

Heavy rain on Sunday meant the race was delayed by over an hour and a half. Despite the downpour, conditions at Sepang International Circuit were still hot and humid.

When the race began behind a Safety Car, Lance was initially on Medium tyres. However, upon experiencing wet areas of the track, he came into the pits to change to Intermediate tyres before the race got underway in a standing start.

The Intermediate tyre proved to be the right choice and Lance began to quickly climb positions.

As the track began to dry, Lance was running in P13 when a Safety Car on Lap 9 gave him the chance to pit. He switched onto the Hard tyre and returned to the track in P11, right in the middle of the action, allowing him to battle with Lando Norris and several other drivers.

At the end of Lap 28, Lance pitted again for a new set of Hards.

His final pitstop came on Lap 43 under a Virtual Safety Car period, meaning he could pit without losing his position.

Lance held onto P12 across the finish line, securing his best result of the season so far.

His season will continue on 9-11 October with the Singapore Grand Prix.

WATCH: 2026 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX RACE HIGHLIGHTS

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team, said:

"We came to Malaysia knowing this track would suit our car slightly better – less power and grip limited so that helped us.

"It was fun being out there today and battling with other cars.

"The weather conditions were very tricky and I think we missed some good racing with the delayed start. But I was surprised how slippery it was when I first got out there so I came in and switched to Inters, which was the right choice.

"The Hard tyre seemed very robust, and I think I could have pushed the second set we used more in hindsight. That's where we lost a couple of positions and finished outside the points."