(Motorsport-Total.com) – That Oliver Bearman can no longer compete for points after a strong start to the season really annoys the Briton. 17 of his 18 season points came from the first two races; since then, only one more has been added 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 actually need to be,” he complains. “We are miles away from VCARB, we are miles away from Alpine.”
In fact, in recent weeks, Haas has been fighting more against Williams to avoid being the Q1 loser alongside the regular early exits 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.
| 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 racing team had brought an updated front wing, which, according to Bearman, “slightly improved” the VF-26’s driving characteristics and brought the car into a better operating window.
While this may help the drivers on track, 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 locally provide some 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-fold 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 flew into the gravel five laps from the end.
Points are likely to be difficult for the Americans at the upcoming race in Hungary. In the championship, Haas now has to look strongly backwards, as the 61 points that Alpine and Racing Bulls each have are essentially unattainable for Haas with their 21 points, meaning seventh place would be the absolute maximum.
However, that is strongly at risk, as Audi has collected eight points combined 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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