Formula 1 started off complicated for Haas at the 2026 Canadian GP. Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman advanced to SQ2 of the Sprint Qualifying in Montreal, but the team left Friday with doubts about the new update package for the VF-26.
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Ocon secured 14th position on the Sprint grid, just ahead of Bearman, who finished 15th. The performance came after a TL1 heavily interrupted by red flags, making it difficult to evaluate the new aerodynamic package brought to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Bearman stated that the team’s expectation was to find an immediate performance gain, which did not happen. “We expected the update to be easier to put on track and to represent a step forward right away, but that was not the case,” explained the Brit. “I had difficulties with grip and confidence in the car’s balance.”
Ocon also faced problems during the free practice, even touching the wall and damaging the front wing. Despite this, the Frenchman avoided bigger consequences and managed to return to the pits. “We were extremely lucky this morning because it was a hard hit. I will probably feel it tomorrow,” he said.
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According to Ocon, Haas still struggles to understand the car’s behavior over the curbs and in the more undulating areas of the Canadian track. “Everything seemed too stiff at the beginning. We improved the car a bit, but there is still a lot to analyze before qualifying,” he highlighted.
The team principal, Ayao Komatsu, summed up Friday as “very difficult” and admitted that Haas ended the day with more questions than answers. “The drivers couldn’t gain confidence in the car as they needed. Now we need to understand why we couldn’t extract performance from either the old package or the new one,” concluded the Japanese director.
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