@ItzKatana the only way to remove the smily face is to remove everything except the search box (check photo bellow).
Go to settings > scroll down to start page > show speed dial suggestions. Also turn on hide speed dial.
Hope this helps bro. I was trying to do a minimal speed dial/new tab, so it doesn't bother me not having news, pinned sites, etc. I've been trying to remove it for weeks and finaly found out how.
Speed dial/new tab
Screenshot 2024-09-01 153419.png
Start page settings
Screenshot 2024-09-01 153739.png