Since bringing an upgrade to last month’s British Grand Prix, the Haas team’s speed has made it an even greater points-scoring threat. But a strong points haul, to match that potential, has not been realised.
Despite scoring a career-best qualifying finish of P8, at his home race, Oliver Bearman’s weekend was undone by a self-inflicted ten-place grid penalty, untimely pitstops and a collision with teammate Esteban Ocon.
And to round off a hectic end to the session, Ollie Bearman hits the barriers entering the pits 😵#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/mncqKOmIiR
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2025
Then at Spa, despite following Ocon’s fifth-place sprint finish, seventh, a brief engine issue allowed Pierre Gasly to crucially pass Bearman for what was the final points-paying position.
And at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the 20-year-old rookie became the sole retirement after he lost balance, and competitiveness, mid-race. This was particularly brutal on driver and team, as he ran inside the top ten for much of the race’s first half.
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Team principal Ayao Komatsu was asked for his take on Bearman’s retirement, and he told haasf1team.com: “I’m pretty sure Ollie’s car was overbalanced, there’s no way that degradation from Ollie was the limit of the car or driver. We retired Ollie as he damaged the floor at Turn 4 again, it’s the third time this weekend, so we need to look at that also.”
And on the disappointment, and missed opportunities, of the past three events, Komatsu added: “We didn’t show what we should be showing today [Hungarian GP]. With how quick the car is, where we should’ve qualified, and the race pace of Bortoleto [who finished P6], there’s no reason we can’t do that.
“The car is quick, and we have two drivers with potential, we’ve just struggled putting it together for the last three races. We need the summer break; to refocus, look at ourselves and then think about how we can deliver.”
For a team that has scored just six points in the past three events, and is ninth in the championship, it may sound overly optimistic to be targeting the upper-midfield positions. But it was only last season where the bedrock of the team’s season was built upon strong European rounds.
Back-to-back sixth place finishes, in Austria and Great Britain, allowed the team to hold onto sixth position in the constructors’ championship for much of the season’s second half. And only a double podium finish from Alpine, at the soaked Brazilian Grand Prix, allowed them to usurp Haas to that position.
Hence, Komatsu understands the rigours, and significance, of maximising the car’s potential at every turn. Because it can yield a better championship finish and it would be worth millions, particularly to the smallest team on the grid.