Haas has admitted that its rivals have overtaken and out-developed the team during the 2026 Formula 1 season, despite a strong start. Team principal Ayao Komatsu and driver Oliver Bearman remain confident that Haas can close the gap “soon”.
Haas traditionally begins each season strongly, and it maintained that trend in 2026 by scoring points in the opening three races. That run included a fifth-place finish for Bearman at the Chinese Grand Prix.
However, the team has since been caught by its rivals as it struggles with an inconsistent car and a slower development rate than midfield competitors Alpine and Racing Bulls.
“2025 was really the first year for us, or one of very few years, where we seemed to have good pace throughout the year,” Bearman explained ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. “We actually improved our relative performance as the year went on.
“Now, 2026 is more of what we’ve seen from Haas in the past, of starting incredibly strong with a really quick car as a base, but not being able to improve like the others have.
“Quite frankly, we’ve been overtaken right now. We are the 10th-best team. It really hurts, myself and all the others. We were working really hard to make that not be the case, but that’s the reality of where we are right now.”
Haas has not scored points since the Monaco Grand Prix in June, when Esteban Ocon finished ninth. Since then, inconsistency has limited the team’s ability to extract the maximum performance from its 2026 car.
Haas will not abandon its 2026 Formula 1 car
Komatsu remains hopeful that Haas can find solutions to the problems affecting its car. The team principal said the organisation has demonstrated over the past two seasons that it has the technical capability to develop its machinery.
“So, the last two years, I think we proved to ourselves and the outside world that we can develop the car. We’ve got the people, the technical department is functioning,” Komatsu said ahead of the Zandvoort race.
“For us to have any remote chance of keeping up with the others, because of the size of our team, everything has to be perfect. But that’s just not realistic in anyone’s life. And the Montreal upgrade wasn’t perfect. Some bits worked, some bits made the car faster, but some bits wasn’t perfect. Actually, [it] made the drivability more difficult as well.
“So, we’re learning from those lessons. And what’s the objective for the rest of the season? For me, it’s the same as the last two years. We’ve got to prove to ourselves that we can identify the key issues, we can solve the issues and then put it on the car to move forward.”
Haas’s struggles have prompted questions about when the team will stop developing its 2026 challenger and switch its resources to next year’s car. Komatsu said that is not an option, insisting that Haas must unlock the performance of the VF-26. He believes that process will also benefit the team over the longer term.
“If you say, OK, fine, ‘26, we started well, but tail off, it’s the first year of regulation. Fine, let’s move on, start ’27. We haven’t solved the fundamental issue. If we do that, it doesn’t give confidence to people,” the Japanese engineer explained.
“They’ve got to believe in themselves. One of the main driving factors in the way they’re tackling now, together as a team, is the confidence and togetherness they’ve gained from the last two years. That’s why we are developing out of it.”
Haas confirms Monza upgrades for the Italian Grand Prix
Haas will bring new parts for the VF-26 to Monza this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix as it attempts to develop its way out of its current performance problems.
“This weekend, we’re bringing another upgrade package to the car,” Komatsu explained in a statement shared by the team. “So again, it’s critical we maximise our practice time, evaluate our data comprehensively, and strive to keep pushing in the midfield.”
Bearman cautioned, however, that new parts do not always result in an immediate improvement on track. He said Haas has seen significant differences in downforce from one race to another, meaning that improving the car’s consistency could be as valuable as introducing an upgrade.
“We have new parts coming,” the Briton said. “But we’re very sceptical in some ways. We have discrepancies in a race like Budapest. We have discrepancies of downforce equivalent to the size of an upgrade. If I have the car that I had in Spa, here [in Zandvoort], it’s like putting an upgrade on the car.
“An upgrade, I don’t know how much it costs, but many millions. If we can figure out how to get our car to work, it’s for free. If we get the upgrade but it doesn’t perform, then it’s like not getting it. There’s many factors at play, it’s a big challenge.”
Looking ahead to the Italian Grand Prix, Bearman believes Haas can move up to ninth in the Formula 1 constructors’ order. Aston Martin has recently introduced a major overhaul of its AMR26 and moved away from the back of the field, but Bearman expects Haas to hold an advantage at Monza because of the circuit’s power-sensitive layout.
“We expect to beat [Aston Martin] in Monza, where it’s a power track,” Bearman said. “But in Hungary, they were faster than us, or at least more consistent. Those are the facts in terms of that. That’s where we are.
“It really hurts to be sitting here saying that, but that’s the case.”
