For Haas, Friday’s free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix in Formula 1 was encouraging. The team left Spa-Francorchamps satisfied with the performance shown in the two sessions and believes it has taken an important step in understanding the car for the rest of the season.
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The team highlighted the execution of a broad testing program. The work focused on evaluating solutions developed after the previous two rounds, aiming to improve the car’s characteristics.
Oliver Bearman finished FP2 in 12th position and praised the update brought to Belgium. According to the Brit, the new front wing is not a revolution, but it has already shown positive signs.
“It was a positive day. We brought a new front wing that is not a revolutionary change, but it is a step in the right direction, and I am happy with how the car behaved. The balance was very good, so I am satisfied,” he said.
Bearman also believes that weather conditions may favor Haas throughout the weekend: “I hope the weather plays in our favor. When it’s colder, you expose fewer limitations of the car, and we have some. I think lower temperatures favor us and we will do our best to be at the front when it really matters, on Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
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Esteban Ocon, who finished FP2 in 14th, drew attention to the challenges related to the 2026 cars. The Frenchman highlighted the difficulty in managing power delivery throughout the lap at Spa.
“It was interesting to complete the first laps with the 2026 cars at Spa-Francorchamps. It is quite difficult to get the power delivery right in the correct places,” he added. The French driver also recalled the typical weather instability of the Belgian circuit and emphasized that the team will need to monitor the forecast for Saturday.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu described Friday as very positive. According to him, practically all the goals set for the day were achieved, except for the race simulations, which were interrupted by the red flag.
“We basically did everything we planned. The only thing we couldn’t do was our long stint because of the red flag. In terms of understanding and making the car better, I feel we really took a step forward. It was a good Friday,” concluded the Japanese manager.
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