Oliver Bearman made a harsh diagnosis about Haas’ moment in Formula 1. After a competitive start in 2026, the Briton stated that the team has been overtaken by most rivals and today occupies, in his view, the position of the tenth force on the grid.
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According to Bearman, the problem is not Haas’ ability to build a fast car, but the lack of resources to keep up with the development pace of the competitors. “We started incredibly strong. We had some very good first races, with the car fast and working well. But, step by step, the others caught up, overtook us and now have left us completely behind,” he said.
The driver recalled that, at the beginning of the year, Haas even managed to surpass direct rivals with ease. “In Australia, I remember overtaking the two RB cars and opening a gap. Today we wouldn’t even dream of that. It’s funny how things change quickly.” For Bearman, the current scenario repeats a historical difficulty of the team: starting with a good base, but losing ground as rivals introduce novelties.
The limitation becomes evident in the frequency of updates. “When we update the car, it becomes competitive and works, but when the pace of changes is so fast, as at the start of a new regulation, we can’t keep up,” he explained. “If others bring an update every few races, we manage to do it every nine. That’s not fast enough.”
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Bearman cited Red Bull, Ferrari and other teams as examples of the aggressive development pace in 2026 and admitted that Haas is not in a position to replicate this process. Still, he remains confident in a long-term recovery.
“Everyone on this team is very passionate and competent,” he highlighted. Bearman added that Ayao Komatsu works intensely to put Haas back at the front of the midfield pack, although he acknowledges that the transformation “won’t happen overnight” and probably not in the next 12 months either.
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