Esteban Ocon explains Haas tyre troubles after difficult Spanish GP. Severe tire wear costs Esteban Ocon and Haas points finish at Barcelona.

Two drivers, zero points

Just one week after Esteban Ocon secured ninth place in Monaco—his best result of the 2026 Formula 1 season—Haas arrived in Barcelona hoping to achieve something it had not yet managed this year: finishing with both cars in the points.

That objective, however, remained out of reach in Spain.

A tyre degradation nightmare

Starting from 17th on the grid on the soft tyre compound, the French driver fought his way up to 13th place at the finish. However, a demanding race that required three pit stops ultimately prevented him from challenging for points.

“It was a very difficult race,” Ocon admitted. “We weren’t able to keep the tyres in good condition or make them last throughout the race. We had to make three pit stops because the rear tyres simply couldn’t hold on. They were completely worn out at the end of every stint.”

“We tried to hang on, but we just didn’t have the pace at the end of the race. We need to analyse the setup carefully because I think we got something wrong this weekend, from FP2 all the way through to the race. Hopefully we can do a better job in Austria.”

Similar issues also affected team-mate Oliver Bearman, although his race appeared to be heading towards a finish just outside the points positions. With only a few laps remaining, however, the British driver was forced to retire due to a technical problem.

“It was tough, but we expected it,” Bearman explained. “I don’t think we were out of position. In fact, we were running higher than expected and our pace was actually quite good. Unfortunately, with just a few laps to go I was in 13th place, which would have become 11th after the retirements of the two cars ahead, and then we suffered a problem with the car that forced us to retire. We have work to do. It was a difficult weekend, but we’ll sit down together, understand exactly what happened and make improvements for the next race.”

The Spanish Grand Prix therefore ended as a frustrating weekend for Haas, with both drivers leaving Barcelona empty-handed despite showing flashes of competitiveness. The American team will now focus on understanding the causes of its tyre degradation issues and reliability concerns ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.