– The fact that Oliver Bearman can no longer compete for points after a strong start to the season is very frustrating for the Briton. 17 of his 18 season points came from the first two races; since then, he has only added one in eight races. In the last five Grands Prix, he even remained entirely without points.
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“We are far behind where we need to be,” he complains. “We are miles away from VCARB, we are miles away from Alpine.”
Indeed, in recent weeks, Haas has been fighting more against Williams to avoid being the Q1 loser alongside the regular dropouts Cadillac and Aston Martin. However, this was only moderately successful: in five of the last six qualifying sessions, one Haas (always Esteban Ocon) was eliminated in the first segment – in Monaco, both Haas cars were affected.
Haas – Qualifying & Race
| Grand Prix | Ocon (Q) | Bearman (Q) | Ocon (R) | Bearman (R) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 8 | 3 | 7 | |
| Australia | 13. (+0,180) | 12. | 11. (+25,3) | 7. |
| China | 13. (+0,305) | 10. | 14. (+1 Lap) | 5. |
| Japan | 12. | 18. (+0,175) | 10. | Retirement |
| Miami | 14. (+0,205) | 12. | 13. (+7,5) | 11. |
| Canada | 17. (+0,396) | 16. | 14. (+1 Lap) | 10. |
| Monaco | 17. | 19. (+0,092) | 9. | Retirement |
| Barcelona | 17. (+0,502) | 15. | 13. | 17. (+4 Laps) |
| Austria | 15. (+0,294) | 13. | 16. (+1 Lap) | 14. |
| Great Britain | 17. (+0,110) | 14. | 13. (+0,3) | 12. |
| Belgium | 18. (+0,695) | 16. | 17. (+16,5) | 14. |
Team principal Ayao Komatsu had to admit in Belgium that his team was simply out-developed by the competition. In Spa, the team brought an revised front wing, which, according to Bearman, “slightly improved” the driving characteristics of the VF-26 and brought the car into a better operating window.
This may help the drivers on track, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problems, as it doesn’t really bring more downforce to the car, even though Haas stated in the published FIA document that it should provide some local aerodynamic load.
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“We’ve made a small step,” says Bearman, but that’s not enough for him: “We need a four or five times bigger step to fight for points on our own merit and not just through others’ retirements.”
Haas’ best result in the last four races was a twelfth place for Bearman at Silverstone – a race where championship leader Kimi Antonelli had problems due to a loose brake duct and Max Verstappen crashed into the gravel five laps from the end.
Points are likely to be difficult for the Americans at the upcoming race in Hungary as well. In the championship, Haas now has to look strongly backwards, because the 61 points that Alpine and Racing Bulls each have are basically unattainable for Haas with their 21 points, so seventh place would be the best they could hope for.
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However, that is strongly at risk, because Audi has collected eight points together in Silverstone and Spa and is closing in. The Germans are still eleven points behind Haas, but at this rate, Audi would overtake them in Monza – and there are still nine races on the calendar.
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