McLaren aiming to bounce back at Japanese Grand Prix this weekend in Suzuka

That was another hit for the reigning Formula 1 Champions as they look to defend both their Titles in 2026.

With the F1 circus heading to Suzuka this weekend, McLaren claim they have been working hard to avoid future issues and recover from their disastrous weekend in Shanghai.

In a press release previewing the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren said: "McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team travels to the iconic Suzuka Circuit with the aim of bouncing back with a strong performance following important learnings from valuable time spent in Woking reviewing the opening two weekends of the season.

"With both drivers entering the weekend having secured more engineering and sim time under their belt, alongside the wider team having undertaken a joint investigation together with HPP to make sure that the two separate faults suffered in Shanghai don't occur again, McLaren Mastercard go into the weekend fully prepared to be in position to take on the challenge of securing strong points while continuing to work hard to close the gap versus the leading two teams."

Mark Temple, McLaren's Technical Director of Performance commented on the season so far with the new cars and their new power units.

He said: "Reflecting on the opening rounds of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, we have seen two very different circuit layouts.

"The Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Park provided medium and high-speed chicanes, whereas the Shanghai International Circuit in China provided long, low and medium speed corners.

"Even though we are only in the early stages of this new generation of Formula 1, we have already experienced two different power unit challenges and requirements in terms of harvest and deployment, affecting areas such as driving approach and racing tactics," he explained.

As for Suzuka, Temple added: "We expect to see something a little more like Melbourne. Suzuka remains a unique and challenging circuit layout with its iconic corners, but like Melbourne it is a more energy-starved track.

"We therefore anticipate more artefacts of energy recovery in a number of areas of the circuit such as entering Turn 1.

"This will be an important area to optimise along with the chassis and tyre performance," the McLaren engineer concluded.