All eyes will be on Aston Martin at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at beleaguered works partner Honda’s home circuit.
Suzuka is one of Formula 1’s most iconic and demanding tracks, but given the state of Aston Martin’s 2026 challenger, it would be a miracle to see either car finish what’s expected to be an embarrassing homecoming for the Honda-powered operation.
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It will be a happier weekend for Mercedes, meanwhile, with two victories so far shared equally among its drivers — though the team’s handling of Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s first win in China wasn’t to everyone’s taste.
Meanwhile, several teams have teased special one-off Japanese Grand Prix liveries in celebration of one of Formula 1’s favourite races.
HELMUT MARKO ISSUES ADRIAN NEWEY UPDATE
Former Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has weighed into the Aston Martin competitive crisis overseen by former colleague Adrian Newey.
Newey had been Red Bull Racing’s long-time chief technical officer before quitting the team in 2024. He became Aston Martin’s managing technical partner last year, where the Lawrence Stroll-owned team has hoped the famed designer can turn it into a race-winning operation.
All eyes will be on Aston Martin at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix after Adrian Newey took a step back.Source: AFP
Newey was subsequently elevated to team principal for 2026, but his first full season with the team has been disastrous. Neither car has yet been classified at the finish of a grand prix thanks largely to its troubled Honda power unit.
The problems, though, could run deeper than just the engine. There are known issues with the gearbox — the Silverstone’s first in-house unit in almost two decades — and though Newey claims the chassis is worthy of Q3, the argument has been impossible to test.
PIT TALK PODCAST: Audi team principal Jonathan Wheatley leaves his job less than a year after moving to Hinwil. Is a switch to Aston Martin now on the cards? And we look ahead to this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Speaking to OE24, Marko, who left Red Bull’s F1 program suddenly at the end of last year, said the signs were grim.
“I had contact with [Newey],” he said. “He is not doing well [at Aston Martin].
“There are problems with this project that will not be solved so quickly.”
Speculation is now mounting that Newey will step down from the team principal position to focus on leading the technical office, with former Audi boss Jonathan Wheatley tipped to replace him.
Depending on whether Newey continues as interim boss and for how long, his appointment would rank among the shortest in history, with the team having given no indication at the time of his announcement that he was taking up the role in anything other than a permanent capacity.
Chief trackside officer Mike Krack — a former Aston Martin team principal who stood in for Newey at the Chinese Grand Prix — corroborated Marko’s claim that there would be no quick fixes this year.
“We will continue to work hard, but also we need to stay realistic,” Krack told SiriusXM. “We cannot produce miracles in such a short time.
“The most important is that you are working on all your issues, and you can only solve them one at a time.
“That does not mean we need to solve one per event. We need to solve many, but I think it is important that you do not panic. You know that for the next race we have to improve, and this applies to reliability and to performance. So, we will bring improvements. How much of an impact they will have, we will see in Japan.”
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STEINER HITS OUT AT ‘SELF-PROMOTIONAL’ WOLFF
Former Haas boss Guenther Steiner has whacked Mercedes principal Toto Wolff over his “self-promotional” post-race message to Andrea Kimi Antonelli at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Antonelli, 19 years old, won his first grand prix in Shanghai, just two races into his second season, to become the second youngest winner in Formula 1 history, having set the record for youngest every getter the day before.
It was validation for the Italian after a scrappy and accident-prone first season in the sport that saw him score only three points for the entire European leg of the campaign.
There were even calls for Antonelli to be dumped from the team and farmed out to a midfield squad as an apprenticeship during the height of his struggles.
Wolff, who was instrumental in Antonelli’s rapid F1 promotion, had kept those receipts and redeemed them immediately after his protégé won his first grand prix.
“He’s too young. We shouldn’t put him in a Mercedes. Put him in a smaller team. He needs experience. Look at the mistakes he makes,” Wolff said over team radio. “Here we go, Kimi. Victory.”
Despite the significance of the moment for a driver Mercedes is adamant has championship potential, former Haas boss Steiner accused Wolff of making the moment about himself.
“It was total self-promotional,” Steiner told the Red Flags podcast. “It was like, ‘Make sure that everybody knows that I didn’t do anything wrong’.
“Toto wouldn’t need that, but I think he has got a little bit of a complex there.
“I mean, the guy won. You don’t need to explain it now, Toto. Everybody believes it. You can see it, you can feel it, you can hear it. You don’t have to tell everybody, ‘Yeah, because everybody doubted me’.
“In the end, Kimi did it and not Toto. We always have to respect that as well.
“Toto, as I said, doesn’t need to do that. I don’t know why he does it. To each his own.”
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HAAS REVEALS GODZILLA LIVERY FOR JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
Haas will celebrate a season-long partnership with Japanese entertainment company Toho with a Godzilla-themed livery for this weekend’s race in Suzuka.
The famous post-war monster will appear on the engine cover of both cars for the Japanese Grand Prix following a livery reveal in Tokyo on Tuesday. It will reappear for October’s United States Grand Prix.
The American-owned team enjoys a close technical and commercial relationship with Japan thanks to its tie-up with title sponsor Toyota, with Gazoo Racing branding appearing prominently on the car.
“It’s an honour to bring a global icon such as Godzilla to this sport and activate across an important year for the franchise,” Haas boss Ayao Komatsu, who was born and raised in Tokyo. “We want our fanbases to combine and celebrate with us, as there will be lots to engage with this season.”
Keiji Ota, Toho’s chief Godzilla officer, said: “Godzilla has come to represent indomitable power and resilience, a spirit that deeply resonates with the TGR Haas F1 Team’s determination to constantly break through barriers.”
Mercedes also announced a one-off wolf-inspired livery for Suzuka, with the team publishing digital renders of its car featuring a cartoon wolf face on its front wing.
Haas and Mercedes will join Racing Bulls in having special Japan liveries, with the Red Bull-owned squad swapping its usual Ford blue accents for red to promote a special edition flavour of the energy drink.
(Photo: Supplied)Source: Supplied
McLAREN ROOKIE GETS FIRST OUTING, ASTON YOUNG GUN GETS SUZUKA NOD
McLaren has given reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli his first Formula 1 outing with a two-day test in the team’s 2023 car in Barcelona.
Fornaroli won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in 2024 and 2025 respectively but had no clear connection to Formula 1 until McLaren picked him up late last year, replacing Irishman Alex Dunne, who has since decamped for Alpine.
The 21-year-old Italian completed 110 laps over his two days behind the wheel, which the team said would ensure his readiness in the event either Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris couldn’t take the wheel for a grand prix.
“It’s an amazing feeling to drive an F1 car on track,” he said. “The last two days have been incredible, and I have learned a huge amount across a wide range of aspects of driving in F1.
“While these cars are quite different to those of the current generation, getting time behind the wheel is still essential in my capacity as a reserve driver as well as helping me to correlate the feeling of physically driving when working in the sim as part of my role supporting the team.”
Meanwhile, at Aston Martin, reserve driver Jak Crawford will take over from Fernando Alonso in FP1 this weekend, acquitting one of the team’s four obligatory junior driver outings.
Crawford, a former Red Bull junior, was runner-up in last year’s Formula 2 championship.
Replacing Brazilian Felipe Drugovich as Aston Martin’s reserve driver, he entered two FP1 sessions with the team last year, in Mexico City and Abu Dhabi.