Image credit: TGR Haas Formula 1 Team Media Centre
Back in March at the Japanese Grand Prix, the TGR Haas Formula 1 Team had one of Formula One’s most iconic crossovers as they partnered up with Toho to splay Godzilla over their cars as part of a special livery for the third round of the 2026 season. It gave the fans in Japan and around the world a gorgeous livery to look at and provided them with a unique but distinct team up with mirroring narratives and ambitions for the future.
Fifteen rounds later, Godzilla returned. To commemorate the partnership between TGR Haas and Toho as well as to coincide with the release of the brand new film, Godzilla Minus Zero, both Haas cars were once again adorned with a monstrously good livery - this time for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
But what does the partnership between Haas and Toho tell us this time around, now that the majority of the season has passed since we last saw them together?
Like any good story, there’s been some twists and turns since Japan but whether or not they stick the landing in this concluding part of the Formula 1 season remains to be seen and isn’t without unforeseen and consequential drama.
Image credit: TGR Haas Formula 1 Team Media Centre
After the Japanese Grand Prix, Ollie Bearman sat in seventh place overall in the Driver’s Championship with just the Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren drivers ahead of him - the latter of which hadn’t been prior to the Grand Prix. Back then, our analysis was that while he was down, Bearman wasn’t out of the fight and while it would have been difficult in any year for the Haas driver to remain in touch with the top of the pack, being at the front of the midfield didn’t seem out of the question.
However, the narrative has changed significantly since then. In the interim between Japan and Austin, Bearman has only had three points finishes to his name - in Canada, Azerbaijan and in the Singapore Sprint Race. His ninth place finish in Baku ended a nine Grand Prix pointless streak, something his outgoing teammate Esteban Ocon was close to replicating having failed to finish in the points for eight consecutive Grand Prix prior to Azerbaijan. But, with the United States Grand Prix, we’ve entered a portion of the calendar where Bearman excelled last season. From Singapore to Las Vegas in 2025, Bearman scored points in every single race, with a highest finish of fourth at the Mexican Grand Prix. Both he and Haas will have been hoping that he could replicate this form this time around too. So far however, that’s not been the case.
Heading into the Austin weekend, Bearman sat in thirteenth place overall, down from seventh, five points away from Franco Colapinto ahead of him, ten points ahead of Nico Hülkenberg behind him and sixteen points ahead of Ocon.
Would Austin be the place where he and Haas began to turn things around, not just for the sake of this season but so that they could enter 2027 with some renewed optimism?
The short answer is no. Bearman would start the Grand Prix from thirteenth. This latest qualifying result for Bearman meant that the second round of the Championship in China remains the sole occasion so far this year where he has reached Q3.
History then rhymed with itself for Bearman as it produced an unwelcome sequel to the Japanese Grand Prix. Instead of avoiding a massive collision with Franco Colapinto, Bearman instead made contact with the other Alpine of Pierre Gasly in the opening stage of the Grand Prix. The damage proved to be more significant than first thought and it forced the British driver to retire from the Grand Prix.
Image credit: TGR Haas Formula 1 Team Media Centre
On the other side of the Haas garage though, things have been much worse. While Esteban Ocon’s tenth place finish in Japan was a positive way for the experienced Frenchman to enter the Spring Break, there’s been little to celebrate for the Haas driver since then. Monaco and Azerbaijan are the only two Grand Prix at which he’s scored points at and in the latter, Ocon looked momentarily set to equal his seventh place result from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of last season - his second highest ever result with Haas. But that possibility became undone when Racing Bull’s rookie Arvid Lindblad outdragged him to the line, relegating him back to eighth. While still his highest finishing position of the season thus far, being beaten at the line by a rookie will have surely smarted and couldn’t have come at much worse of a time.
“With both a wide array of fresh, young talent and experienced drivers constantly searching for seats on the grid to exploit for their own gain, Esteban Ocon needs this season to be a good one.”
It seems almost needless to say then but Esteban Ocon’s season hasn’t been a good one. As things stand, he looks set for his worst ever season in Formula 1, both in terms of points and positioning in the Championship standings. Even in his worst season to date by those same metrics, which just so happens to be last season, he scored thirty-eight points - a far cry from the seven he entered Austin with. To further compound Ocon’s problems, Haas and he announced that they would be parting ways at the end of the season with Ocon being replaced by Brazilian hopeful and current Formula 2 Championship contender Rafael Câmara. Ocon isn’t just driving with the aim of improving for the rest of the season - he’s driving to fight for his place on the grid - a place that doesn’t seem open to him any longer no matter where he looks.
As the team arrived in Austin, Texas, Ocon sat in sixteenth place overall with just seven points to his name - tied with Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz. Even the most casual fan will be able to tell you that given the states of Aston Martin and Williams in 2026, that does not paint Esteban Ocon in a particularly good light.
Ocon would start the Grand Prix two places behind Bearman in fifteenth and for contrast with his younger teammate, Ocon has yet to reach Q3 at all this season, with a highest starting position of twelfth, which he’s achieved twice in Japan and Singapore - with only the former resulting in a points-paying finishing position by the end of the Grand Prix.
During the race itself, a frustrated Ocon came onto the team radio to vent that he was quicker than his teammate, despite not overtaking him. Bearman was asked to move aside for his departing teammate prior to his retirement from the race (after the contact with Gasly) but once ahead of him, Ocon made very little of an impression on the cars ahead. The Frenchman would finish a lap down just one place higher than where he began the race, in fourteenth.
Texas thus marked the third race weekend in a row that neither driver scored points for the team in a Grand Prix - with Bearman’s sixth place finish in the Singapore Sprint the only redeeming moment within that. Neither Audi nor Williams scored points in Austin either, thus neutralising the negative impact of this somewhat but it will be of little comfort to either the team or the drivers.
Image credit: TGR Haas Formula 1 Team Media Centre
Then came Mexico.
As is often the case at this point in the season, the first Free Practice Session saw a number of test and development and reserve drivers take to the track for every team on the grid bar Ferrari. It’s a mandatory rule in the sport and an accepted norm. Esteban Ocon sat out of FP1 in favour of Ryo Hirakawa with the Japanese driver having already driven for the team in FP1 Sessions in Austria and Hungary earlier this year. He finished the session in fifteenth place before handing the car back to Ocon for FP2.
Ocon proceeded to have a disagreement with his race engineer Laura Müller over team radio during the session about what his plan for that session was and how it apparently deviated from what Haas wanted him to do instead. What happened after the session remains unclear at the time of writing. But ahead of FP3, it was announced that Ocon would be replaced by Hirakawa for the rest of the weekend with no reason given, other than confirmation that Ocon wasn’t ill. It was a stunning move that took everyone by surprise and left wondering what could possibly have happened for this to be the decision that was made. At present, we’re still in the dark about this. But just like that, it appears that Esteban Ocon’s time in Formula 1 has come to an end.
Hirakawa proceeded to finish FP3 in nineteenth and qualified for his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix in eighteenth place. Bearman would start the race from fourteenth. Despite promising pace for much of the Grand Prix, Nico Hülkenberg then collided with the British driver and took him out of the race. Hirakawa meanwhile had somewhat of a dream F1 debut and one that Haas will be relishing given the events of the weekend up to that point. The Mexican Grand Prix was a chaotic one at times with numerous yellow flags as well as a red flag period after Valtteri Bottas’ dramatic exit from the race. But once the race was over and all of the penalties from the stewards were applied, the new TGR Haas driver found himself in tenth place - securing a point for the team in his first ever Grand Prix. It could prove to be a crucial point for the team too given Bortoleto’s eighth place finish for Audi which gave them four points to add to their tally. The gap between the two teams is now just four points with at least two more Grand Prix to go this season.
To further complicate matters though, Ryo Hirakawa won’t be able to compete at the next round in Brazil because of his World Endurance Championship commitments where he’s on the precipice of winning a World Championship with Toyota Racing. Despite his sudden exit mid-way through the weekend, there was a possibility of Ocon returning for Brazil but equally possible was the notion that Haas Reserve Driver Jack Doohan stepped into the role of Grand Prix driver in Brazil instead, buying Haas more time to figure out what they’ll do for the remainder of the season ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. It was entirely possible that Ocon’s replacement for 2027, Rafael Câmara, enters the fray early and competes alongside Bearman in Brazil instead. In the end, that final option was exactly what happened as it was confirmed that Câmara would be joining TGR Haas in Brazil and that Esteban Ocon would no longer be driving for Haas, thus confirming his premature exit from the team.
Image credit: TGR Haas Formula 1 Team Media Centre
As you can determine then, the state of Haas at this point in the season looks somewhat dire. But with this Championship point in Mexico, is there hope on the horizon and has this been foreshadowed already?
Re-enter Godzilla.
Despite the situation that Haas finds themselves in, there is no denying that when it comes to this partnership, if nothing else, they’ve well and truly knocked it out of the park. Much like in Japan, the special Godzilla livery that Haas had on their car for Austin made everyone want Haas to achieve the impossible and somehow produce a thrilling battle between the two drivers for the podium places and then go on to finish the race with a 1-2 simply so that we can watch these stunning cars do battle around one of the most iconic modern circuits in Formula 1.
Since the Japanese Grand Prix, Toho have begun to move their marketing campaign for the new film into a higher gear as the release date comes ever nearer. On the other side of the world, the Monsterverse that Legendary created in conjunction with, but separate from, Toho’s new film released the second season of its hit show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV. Next year will also see the release of the latest film in their own franchise, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova which will build upon the previous five films.
Paddock Influence compared the dynamic between the two sides of the Godzilla franchise with Haas and Cadillac back in March. We concluded that both could happily co-exist and thrive in their respective domains without there needing to be outright competition between the two. That remains the case in Formula One too. But for Haas, the narrative has moved on and this is no longer the biggest concern for the team. Their biggest threat is, as it arguably always has been, from within - and that’s where the narratives between TGR Haas and the Godzilla franchises have begun to deviate.
Image credit: TGR Haas Formula 1 Team Media Centre
With the signing of Esteban Ocon for 2025, Haas were hoping to replicate what they’d had before with Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. Then, they had two experienced drivers capable of extracting the most from a car that had yet to reach its full potential. This time around though, that didn’t happen. Instead, it was the rookie of Bearman who performed and it’s perhaps because of this that Haas have opted for youth instead of experience when deciding both that they would drop Ocon from the team and who they would replace him with. With his point finish in Mexico though, Hirakawa adds a further wrinkle into this assessment.
Haas had four double points finishes last season while this year, they only have one. As it stands on their current trajectory, with just thirty-seven points, Haas look set for their worst season since 2023 or even 2022. Rolling the dice by replacing Ocon with Câmara is risky but is also an indicator that Haas feel they don’t have much to lose by doing this. The proof is already there from Mexico when their decision to replace Ocon with Hirakawa midway through a race weekend immediately yielded a positive result.
Newcomers Audi could beat them in the Constructor’s Standings by the end of the season with just four points currently between them, down from seven after the Grand Prix in Austin. Behind Audi sit only Williams, Aston Martin and Cadillac - each of which have their own unique set of problems to contend with. While Haas should be safe from them, beating those three teams won’t be seen by the general fanbase and experts of the sport as that much of an achievement - particularly for a team with a decade of experience in the sport.
Traditionally, both Bearman and Ocon have fared well more times than not at the upcoming venues on the Formula 1 calendar that end the 2026 season. The drivers and Haas need that to be the case again otherwise they look doomed to repeat what has befallen them next year too. In Mexico, this became an even more complex target to achieve. While Toho and Godzilla have been able to breathe fresh life into their franchise and with their American counterparts clearly capable of the same, if Haas can’t follow suit, there’ll be a further divergence of narrative that will be more difficult to understand should the two crossover again in the near future.
Moving forwards, Haas could do with taking inspiration from both sides of the franchise, particularly the Japanese end that has successfully and somewhat surprisingly recaptured the magic that it was once known for. There’s plenty of life left in that old dog yet and Haas needs to show the world that the same applies to them.
At the very least, if nothing else, this outrageously fun blend of Formula 1 and Toho has given us two beautiful cars to feast our eyes upon amidst all the chaos and trials and tribulations that they’ve faced so far this year and for that, we are all thankful. Here’s hoping that in the coming races and years, both can give us much more than just that. With the Mexican Grand Prix and Hirakawa’s point finish having taken place on the Day of the Dead too, it would be the perfect time for the team to begin their resurrection. Only time will tell.