Aston Martin made an unexpected achievement during qualifying at the Sepang circuit by placing both of its cars in Q2 for the first time this season. This performance was not anticipated, especially after a challenging season for the British team. During the Bahrain Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll both managed to pass the Q1 threshold, a first for the team since the season began. While this result may seem modest for a team with long-term goals, it marks a real breakthrough after fifteen difficult weekends. Before Sepang, Aston Martin had only managed to place one of its AMR26 cars in Q2 once: Alonso had achieved this in Hungary, shortly after the introduction of a major set of upgrades. This time, both Aston Martin cars avoided elimination in the first part of qualifying. Alonso recorded a time of 1:37.721, overtaking his teammate by just eight thousandths of a second. The two drivers did not rely on special circumstances to pass Q1; they comfortably finished ahead of the elimination zone, with about a quarter of a second advantage over the Audi of Nico Hülkenberg. This double Q2 qualification is a first for Aston Martin this season. It comes after a particularly difficult campaign during which the AMR26 regularly found itself among the least competitive cars on the grid. The result also holds special significance for Alonso, who had previously been the only driver in the team to reach Q2 in Hungary when the car had benefited from its main set of upgrades of the season. Once in Q2, however, Aston Martin did not manage to extend the surprise until the last part of qualifying. Alonso failed by about four tenths of a place in the top 10 and therefore could not reach Q3. The Spaniard can nevertheless be satisfied with a 12th place on the grid, his best result in qualifying since the start of the season. A notable improvement considering the enormous difficulties encountered by Aston Martin since the first races of 2026. Stroll, on the other hand, will start from the 14th position. The Canadian thus confirms the encouraging performance of the team by allowing Aston Martin to place both cars higher on the grid than it had generally been used to this year. The performance in Sepang is obviously not enough to erase the structural difficulties of the AMR26, but it at least offers a more realistic opportunity to get closer to the points on Sunday. Aston Martin recently confirmed that no major new set of upgrades would be introduced on the AMR26 before the end of the season. The team is now focusing on more modest adjustments while continuing its long-term development work. In this context, seeing Alonso and Stroll simultaneously reach Q2 represents a particularly encouraging result. The team will now have to determine whether this progress is specific to the characteristics of Sepang or if it reflects a more general improvement in the understanding of its car. For Alonso, the main goal will be to take advantage of his 12th place to try to get closer to the top 10 in the race. The Spaniard has scored points only on rare occasions this season, and Aston Martin remains stuck in the lower part of the constructor's standings. Sepang nevertheless offers an unusual opportunity: for the first time in 2026, both Aston Martin cars have passed Q1 together and will be able to approach the race from positions that allow them to hope to more directly engage in the battle for the middle of the pack.