Three Wins. Three Teams. Alonso’s Sepang Hat Trick

Before his victories with Renault, McLaren and Ferrari, Sepang gave Fernando Alonso his first F1 pole and podium, beginning a connection that would produce three very different wins.

Before his victories with Renault, McLaren and Ferrari, Sepang gave Fernando Alonso his first F1 pole and podium, beginning a connection that would produce three very different wins.

With the 2026 Bahrain GP bringing F1 back to Sepang in Malaysia, Alonso has plenty of history to revisit.

His first pole and podium came here in 2003. Across the circuit’s original F1 run from 1999 through 2017, he added three victories, each with a different constructor. The same track connects his rise at Renault, his first win for McLaren and one of his most memorable afternoons in a Ferrari.

2005: Renault’s title challenge takes shape

Alonso’s first Sepang win came from pole, with Jarno Trulli’s Toyota finishing 24.327 seconds behind. It was a commanding result, but also an early indication of what Renault could achieve that season.

Giancarlo Fisichella had won the opener in Australia. Alonso’s victory made it two wins from two races for Renault, with both drivers already contributing.

For Alonso, Malaysia began a run of three consecutive victories, followed by Bahrain and San Marino. The driver who had celebrated his first podium here two years earlier was now building the campaign that would deliver his first world championship.

2007: A first win in McLaren colors

Two years later, Alonso returned as a double world champion driving for McLaren Mercedes. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa had pole, but Alonso took the lead at the first corner.

Lewis Hamilton also passed both Ferraris at the start, putting McLaren first and second. That opening changed the race: Ferrari had to chase, while Alonso could establish his lead.

He finished 17.557 seconds ahead of Hamilton to take his first McLaren victory in only his second race for the team. Sepang had become the first winning stop in another chapter of his career.

2012: Ferrari’s unlikely win from eighth

The third victory demanded something different. Alonso started eighth, and a rain-interrupted race turned into a wet-to-dry contest with Sergio Pérez’s Sauber chasing him.

Pérez closed to within a second late in the race before running wide at Turn 14. That mistake gave Alonso breathing room, but Pérez recovered to finish just 2.263 seconds behind.

That was the finishing margin, not the closest the fight had been.

Alonso had won from the fourth row, with Hamilton completing the podium. After the comfortable margins of 2005 and 2007, his third Sepang victory remained under threat deep into the race. Ferrari completed the three-team set, with Pérez making him work for the final piece.