Suzuka delivered from the moment the gates opened. Fans filled the pit lane, walked the start-finish straight, and packed the fan zone despite a wet morning. By afternoon, the sun was out and the circuit looked as beautiful as ever. Inside the paddock, however, the mood told a very different story.
▶ Watch the full Thursday media day report on The Motion Report →
Aston Martin Under the Microscope at Honda’s Home Race
The team everyone is watching this weekend is Aston Martin. Two races in, zero finishes. The 2026 season has been as difficult an opening as any in recent memory for a team with this level of investment behind it.
Inside the garage on Thursday, the team responded with structure rather than noise. Plenty of organised media sessions, plenty of working the room. A team that knows it is under the microscope and is choosing to answer with work. Lance Stroll faced the media in the FIA press conference and was clear about the priorities — more reliability, cleaner power unit performance, and ending the vibration issue that was so severe in China that Alonso lost feeling in his hands and feet between lap 20 and lap 35. That cannot happen again. Particularly not for Lance, who is reported to still carry the effects of past wrist injuries.
On Jonathan Wheatley, there is nothing new to report. The paddock consensus points to a gardening leave of around one year — meaning no immediate impact on Aston Martin’s situation regardless of what eventually follows.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER — Lance Stroll FIA press conference Suzuka 2026]
Alonso Becomes a Father — and Skips Media Day
There was, however, one genuinely warm moment in the Aston Martin camp. Fernando Alonso is a new father. The Spaniard missed Thursday’s media day and Friday’s first practice session as a result. The gender is still unknown. But Alonso, when sighted, looked exactly as you would expect a new father to look. Fatherhood, it seems, agrees with him.
Honda’s Koji Watanabe Speaks Honestly at the Circuit His Founder Built
Honda president Koji Watanabe held a significant media session on Thursday. Here at Suzuka — the circuit built by Honda founder Soichiro Honda — the weight of expectation is unlike anywhere else on the calendar. Watanabe was measured but honest. Progress is being made, he said, but significant work remains. Crucially, he was also firm on the partnership with Aston Martin. Despite the noise of recent weeks, communication between both sides is solid. They are working on the same problems with the same understanding. That, at least, is something.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER — Koji Watanabe Honda Suzuka 2026]
Haas Are Enjoying Their Best Ever Start — and Met Godzilla
Not every story this week has been difficult. Haas are enjoying the best start to a season in the team’s history, and they have made the most of their time in Japan. Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon visited Tokyo as part of a partnership with Toho, Japan’s largest film studio — and came face to face with the Godzilla statue in central Tokyo. Moreover, both drivers got behind the wheel of iconic Toyota cars at a private track. For Bearman, who missed last year’s event, it was a first. He called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Looking at his face when he said it, you believe him completely.
Verstappen Ejects a Journalist — and the Question It Raises
Not everyone had a smooth Thursday. The atmosphere around Red Bull was noticeably tense, and it came to a head during Max Verstappen’s media session. A Guardian journalist asked what Verstappen considered a provocative question. His response was immediate — he asked the journalist to leave. When they did not move, he made it plain: leave, or the session ends for everyone. The journalist left. It did not sit well with those in the room.
Red Bull have confirmed they are bringing updates to Suzuka this weekend, and Verstappen has an exceptional record around this circuit. But that moment will linger. Is that the headspace of a driver ready to perform at his best?
▶ Full Suzuka weekend coverage — watch now on The Motion Report →
Alonso missed Thursday’s media day and Friday’s opening practice session after becoming a father for the first time.
Verstappen asked a Guardian journalist to leave his media session after a question he considered provocative, threatening to end the session for all media present if they refused.
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