Bearman, Ocon admit Haas has fallen behind
"We haven’t brought as much performance to the car as everyone"
Oliver Bearman admits Haas has slipped backwards in Formula 1’s development race, with rivals outpacing the American team under the still-young 2026 regulations.
After a promising start to the season, Haas has now fallen into a fight with Williams at the back of the midfield.
"Last weekend we optimised everything and we were the eighth best team," Bearman told Ekstra Bladet at Silverstone. "That’s tough to swallow."
The Briton believes the problem is simply that rivals have developed faster.
"We haven’t brought as much performance to the car as everyone around us, and that was very clear last weekend," he said.
"We have only brought one real upgrade, while the others have done much more. We have some extra challenges that the others don’t have, so it’s tough for us."
Speaking to Auto Hebdo, Bearman admitted Haas’ latest rear wing is not enough.
"We have a new rear wing that seems to be working as we expected, which is good, but I think it’s too little, too late, honestly," he said.
"It seems like all our rivals have done more. We don’t have any major upgrades coming until the summer break, so we’ll really have to work hard in the next few races."
Bearman added that the rapid pace of development under the new regulations has magnified the problem.
"When you’re only six months in, each upgrade can really change your performance. If you only do one and the other three, it’s normal for them to overtake you."
Teammate Esteban Ocon is now pinning his hopes on Haas’ next major update package.
"Red Bull were all around us in Japan," the Frenchman said. "I was fighting Max and I finished two laps behind him in Austria.
"They have gotten so much better. A bit of that has to happen with us, but I’m sure that’s what the team is striving for."
Meanwhile, with Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli increasingly linked with Ocon’s seat for 2027, McLaren CEO Zak Brown admitted the Italian has a genuine chance of reaching Formula 1.
"I think there are (some possibilities)," Brown said when asked if Fornaroli could be on next year’s grid.
"He’s a great talent. Hopefully he’ll secure an F1 seat.
"I think he’s definitely worthy of being in F1."