Following the Japanese Grand Prix, Formula 1 heads into an unscheduled April break, with the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian GPs no longer taking place.

For some, this chance to step away from the heat of battle, an opportunity to recuperate, is greatly needed. Let us take a look at the four team that stand to gain from the break.

Red Bull, Williams and Aston Martin April break focus explained

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Red Bull

Testing feels an age ago now, a time where Mercedes was being crowned favourites before a competitive wheel had been turned, and were desperately trying to usher the attentive crowd down to Red Bull. There, according to Mercedes, resided the true power unit to watch.

Mercedes trying to be the wolf in sheep’s clothing. As expected, it has begun F1 2026 in dominant fashion, while Red Bull has been watching podium opportunities drift further out of reach, all while shooing off the midfield leaders nipping at their heels.

It would appear not to be a case of all problems tracing back to the first Red Bull Ford engine. Max Verstappen has called the RB22 “undriveable” more than once. Isack Hadjar has warned that the engine is “good”, but the chassis is “terrible”.

This is a huge test for the new-look Red Bull squad, and more specifically, its team principal Laurent Mekies.

Crucially, with no factory shutdown mandated during April, Red Bull can get to work back at Milton Keynes, and formulate a plan to bring the chassis up to a high level with its power unit.

Fail to do so, and the threat of losing Verstappen could intensify; be that to a rival team, or out of the sport entirely.

Williams

For a team that put all of its eggs in the F1 2026 basket, the results so far have proven underwhelming.

Carlos Sainz, the Mercedes engine, impressive 2025 progress, investment behind the scenes. All the indications were there that Williams would be a team to watch this year.

And yet it has scored just two points.

Team boss James Vowles needs to turn this ship around. The FW48 is overweight and uncompetitive. If this had not already landed Williams on our list, Vowles’ comments ahead of the break rubber-stamped it, as he spoke of the hectic schedule at HQ in Grove.

“Every single hour of that break we need in order to get ourselves back on the front foot by the time we come back to Miami,” said Vowles in a Williams social media video.

“Clearly, we haven’t started the season where we wanted to. So that period for us is about taking stock of what we actually really can change.

“Now, without attrition, we can count on the fact that production can be moved towards future performance, that some of that may come in Miami, some of that after that.

“It’s no secret that we’re overweight. Again, the developments will be in that period of time, making sure that we’re able to reduce the mass in the car in a sensible fashion.

“We’ve gone through, by that point, three grands prix, but there’s never enough time after the event to go through every single tiny bit of data and understand, really, what we should have done in hindsight, and what programs we want to kick off in the future, and this provides us a good time to do that.

“The drivers will come back here to the UK, and we’ll run our simulator in basically every single day of that, as much as possible.

“We’ll complete pit-stop practice with the crew back here over most of the days that we can as well.

“So it’ll be more about what do we fit in and what will provide the most bang for the buck.”

Encouraging words, but the proof will be in the pudding come Miami and beyond.

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Aston Martin

There were always going to be some early teething issues for Aston Martin and Honda. Just how severe those have proven to be, neither side was prepared for.

Arguably, Aston Martin needs this pause in the action more than any other team.

The AMR26 was the slowest car over one lap in Japan, while, as Lance Stroll put it, he and Alonso spent the race battling in the “Aston Martin championship“. Cadillac appeared as a special guest.

On the plus side, Honda achieved its goal of getting the battery to the chequered flag, without shaking it into submission.

Battery vibrations were seen as a primary factor behind Honda’s reliability woes. If that has been sorted, the next step can be addressing the vibrations felt by Alonso and Stroll, ones which, according to Alonso, fluctuated in severity across the race weekend at Suzuka.

With some niggles creeping in, Aston Martin and Honda need this April pause to take a breath and shake hands, just as much as to knuckle down and formulate a path out of this backmarker status.

Honda is likely to benefit from the ADUO [Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities] concept, allowing extra development opportunities on its power unit.

Talks are underway, but as it stands, the first checkpoint is after Miami, so a chance to add pure performance may not arise in April.

But, that certainly does not mean performance cannot be unlocked, on both the Aston Martin and Honda sides.

Suzuka marked Aston Martin’s first grand prix distance, as Alonso only made the chequered flag. The break allows Aston Martin and Honda to really drill down into that data – minus what had been more of a distraction in having to put a struggling car on track – and come back for Miami united, rejuvenated for the mission, and with fresh ideas.

Cadillac

It has actually been a respectable start to Formula 1 life for Cadillac.

This April break is important time to take stock and learn. It is not a common opportunity for a new team to receive, so Cadillac must grasp it with both hands.

Even if the performance is not there, Cadillac has got both cars to the chequered flag in China and Japan. That is an important base to build from.

The mood is good within the squad as it goes into April. It now has a chance to understand what it has accomplished, and craft solutions, without the time constraints of the next race weekend.

Valtteri Bottas confirmed that upgrades to the MAC-26 are coming for Miami, Cadillac’s first home race.

The April pause can only help the quality of upgrade which Cadillac will bring to Miami, and what comes beyond.

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