00:00With 2026 marking the milestone 40th Japanese Grand Prix in World Championship history,
00:05the 36th at classic figure-of-eight F1 track Suzuka that is on every driver's favorites list.
00:16Suzuka is one of just two tracks to host the Japanese event,
00:19with Aida the Pacific Grand Prix in 1994 and 1995.
00:24Fuji is the other track, with its last F1 events held in 2007 and 2008.
00:34Red Bull dominated pre-event media in Japan last year,
00:38after it decided to make a brutal driver swap from round three,
00:41with Yuki Tsunoda replacing Liam Lawson at the brand's top team from his home race.
00:48Fans didn't have to wait long to gauge the awkwardness,
00:51with both teams attending Red Bull's Tokyo Fan Festival at Harborside Precinct Odaiba
00:56to celebrate power unit partner Honda.
01:01With the quartet taking to the makeshift track in various cars,
01:05including twin 2011 title-winning RB7s,
01:102021's RB16B,
01:13and 1965's Mexican Grand Prix-winning Honda RA272 in front of 12,000 fans.
01:22And for promoted Red Bull pilot Tsunoda, it was a stunning moment.
01:30You know, without Honda, I wouldn't be here, even probably not in Formula 1 as well,
01:36so I have massive appreciation to them.
01:39I'm very honoured and, you know, very excited to be able to drive last year for them,
01:45in collaboration with Red Bull, with the Red Bull racing car,
01:50especially in Suzuka, in the first race.
01:52I think it can't get better than this situation.
01:56But he, too, was destroyed by teammate Max Verstappen,
01:59with the Dutch Megastar beating him 22-0 in qualifying
02:02and 21-1 in races when they both finished,
02:06and eight wins to zero.
02:10Stats that meant Tsunoda was also demoted,
02:13this time to reserve driver for 2026,
02:16meaning that there's no Japanese driver on the grid
02:18for the first time since 2020, the pandemic-affected season.
02:24Though there are two home teams,
02:26in Honda-powered Aston Martin,
02:28that has nothing to celebrate after two dire races full of vibrations,
02:34and Toyota-sponsored Haas,
02:36which has been testing Japanese drivers in previous cars
02:38as part of its collaboration.
02:45Located an hour from Japan's third-largest city, Nagoya,
02:49the 5.8-kilometer Suzuka track is shaped like a figure-eight
02:52and the only one on the 22-stop calendar that has a crossover,
02:56with 18 turns, 8 left and 10 right,
02:59and a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour.
03:03Mercedes Kimi Antonelli reset the lap record last year.
03:07There are two straight-mode zones,
03:09on the pit-straight and back-straight.
03:11The detection point is after turn 17.
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