00:01Japan is a happy hunting ground for McLaren, with nine victories for the most outright in the land of the
00:07rising sun.
00:08Two at Fuji, seven at Suzuka.
00:13But while 2026 didn't net the milestone 10th, it did mark a return to form and fortune for the Papaya
00:20Squad.
00:24Following a series of MGUK-related issues, which forced Oscar Piastri to crash in Australia en route to the grid,
00:31caused a double DNS in China and affected Lando Norris' practice running in Japan.
00:39At Suzuka, a resurgent Piastri came home in second place, his shot at the wind destroyed by the safety car.
00:46Norris was fifth.
00:48And presenter Lawrence Barreto told official podcast F1 Nation,
00:52the long break to Miami will be an important chance for McLaren to fly higher with upgrades,
00:58which the team has used to great effect in the past.
01:04I think McLaren have an underdeveloped chassis, so I think they realised very late on last year
01:09that maybe the methodologies that they were using weren't quite right,
01:12and that's kind of just meant that they've turned up with an ultra-baseline car
01:16that they need to add performance to.
01:18So actually, we just need to wait for the McLaren to evolve.
01:24Regardless, McLaren's F1 season so far is a long way from its 2025 best,
01:30when under vastly different regulations, it was considered favourite right from the outset,
01:34with a stable platform and driver line-up that was gunning to get out front and fight for the title.
01:42Yeah, I'm super excited for what we've got in store.
01:45Obviously, last year was a great result for the whole team and for both of us as drivers,
01:50but we want to take that next step up and fight from the beginning.
01:54It's now time to get the most from the new regulations
01:56and take the fight to the works team and its power unit partner, Mercedes.
02:10Haas boss Ayo Komatsu says that the squad's eponymous owner Gene Haas
02:15is more committed than ever to his American outfit.
02:18Shutting down torque, he may be considering selling to title sponsor Toyota.
02:25But there's no doubt that Haas, which buys everything from Ferrari that it doesn't have to make,
02:30is taking on more of a Japanese flavour,
02:33including monster news on its most recent visit to Tokyo.
02:37With its drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Baerman revealing a special Godzilla livery,
02:43thanks to a new season-long partnership with Japanese entertainment firm Toho
02:47to promote upcoming film Godzilla Minus Zero.
02:51It's a special week, obviously, for us,
02:54our daily delivery of our new car.
02:57I'm very happy to have this work.
03:00It's a pleasure to be back here in Japan.
03:02It's my entire trip to Japan.
03:06Godzilla, though, pales in comparison to real Japanese behemoth Toyota,
03:11Haas' title sponsor, with whom it signed a technical partnership
03:14to share knowledge, expertise and resources.
03:21Toyota's most visible contribution has been a testing of previous cars or TPC program,
03:26including one for its ex-Foundation driver Roman Grosjean at Italian Track Mugello.
03:34Or famously at Japan's Fuji Speedway,
03:37with Haas Reserve Rio Hirokawa
03:39and Super Formula's Shotsuboi for his first taste of a Grand Prix car.
03:47Suboi was supported in the Fuji Garage by F1 veteran Kamui Kobayashi,
03:52who has tested Haas' cars, including at France's Circuit Paul Ricard.
03:57The Fuji test was also a chance for the Japanese to celebrate Haas boss Ayo Komatsu
04:02with a long line for autographs when there wasn't running.
04:07But Haas' Toyota collaboration goes further than that,
04:10with development and manufacturing opportunities at its Cologne Motorsport base
04:14that once formed the heart of its WORX F1 program.
04:20The sky is the limit for Haas, but it's taking things one day at a time.
