Haas surges to fourth, outperforming Red Bull. Can rookie Bearman and strategic upgrades propel them to challenge F1's giants in 2026?
Haas, 4th in Constructors Championship
After the Australian and Shanghai Grand Prix, Haas has found themselves in 4th place in the championship. Compared to the 2025 F1 Season, Haas found themselves in 8th place with a combined total of 79 points. Oliver Bearman with 41 points (13th place) and Esteban Ocon with 38 points (15th place).
Haas were amongst the top midfield teams on the grid last year, which makes their 4th place very impressive, especially since the are above a team who has won many constructors championships, RedBull.
Haas’s Hidden Gem
Haas might have an ace up their sleeve with rookie, Oliver Bearman. Bearman’s first appearance in Formula One was in 2024, after Last season, Bearman gave Haas their best result of last year with 4th place and was above his teammate in the drivers championship.
As of now, Oliver Bearman is standing above both of last year’s championship contenders, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, which shows that Bearman and Haas are in a pretty secure place as of now, but it could possibly change during the Japanese race weekend, as Max Verstappen is known for dominating in Suzuka.
Haas's Team Principle, Ayao Komatsu, has placed his trust on the British driver, and set a goal with Bearman to beat Max Verstappen in the 2026 season. This shows that Haas's team principle has confirmed his trust on Bearman and is someone to look out for.
What Haas Needs to do:
As of now, Haas is in a good position, while Red bull seems to be having technical difficulties during the race weekends, and in order for Haas to build the gap, they need to focus on various elements:
Develop a strong baseline. Many teams are struggling with keeping calm amidst a chaotic start to the season with new regulations. Many changes need to be made to a lot of the cars. Haas has to stand their ground and think carefully about the calls they make like strategically placed upgrades.
Consistency is key, consistency can surpass speed if the other team struggles to stay consistent. This brings predictable behavior in the car, so that the drivers can trust their cars when taking strategic risks during the races.
Red Bull's weakness is that they're fast, but only when things work out, this makes Red Bull vulnerable to lose control of their cars faster and can be unreliable and hard for the drivers to trust their car, especially with the new regulations and hybrid system. Haas can use this momentum to their advantage and calculate how to move from here.
Let's see how things go down at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend!