F1 | Haas VF-25 shows significant progress at Silverstone thanks to aerodynamic upgrades
The Haas VF-25 has shown encouraging signs of improvement at the 2025 British Grand Prix held at Silverstone, thanks to a fresh aerodynamic upgrade package. The new developments, which include a redesigned floor and revised inlet shapes on the sidepods, have enhanced the car’s behavior, especially in high-speed corners. Oliver Bearman was able to extract the maximum potential from the car over a single flying lap, while his teammate Esteban Ocon encountered difficulties in Q2, partly due to a less-than-ideal outlap. The race will provide a clearer picture of the VF-25’s long-run performance and whether the updates can deliver sustained competitiveness over a full race distance on a track known for being both demanding and tire-sensitive.
New floor and revised inlets: VF-25 gains grip through fast corners
The qualifying session at Silverstone highlighted the improved competitiveness of the Haas VF-25, particularly in the hands of Oliver Bearman. The 20-year-old British rookie delivered a standout performance by securing eighth place in Q3, making him the fastest driver among the midfield teams. Unfortunately, due to a penalty for failing to slow under red flag conditions during FP3, Bearman will start the race from 18th on the grid.
This weekend, the American team brought a substantial aerodynamic upgrade featuring a new floor and revised sidepod inlet geometry. While integrating these changes into the car’s setup was not straightforward—as reflected in Friday’s free practice sessions where both drivers struggled outside the top ten—things improved significantly by Saturday.
As team principal Ayao Komatsu confirmed, key setup changes before FP3 allowed the new floor to generate more downforce, especially at high speeds:
“The positive takeaway today is that the upgrade we brought is working. The car came alive after we made some setup changes following FP2. Bearman adapted immediately and was able to maximize the potential, reaching Q3 and finishing P8, behind only the top teams.”
Data analysis: VF-25 shows clear step forward at fast circuits
The performance data confirms that the Haas VF-25 has taken a tangible step forward relative to other midfield contenders, particularly on high-speed circuits. In previous events held at similar tracks—such as Suzuka, Jeddah, Barcelona, Austria, and Imola—Haas regularly lagged behind, with gaps to the leaders exceeding half a second. Moreover, their performance deficits tended to worsen with softer tire compounds, especially in comparison with direct rivals like Williams.
On average this season, the VF-25 has trailed by over 0.5 seconds with softest compounds (C5/C6) and by around 0.3 seconds with medium or harder qualifying tires (C3/C4). At Silverstone, aided in part by below-par qualifying efforts from Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon, Haas topped the midfield with a slim advantage of 68 milliseconds.
Oliver Bearman made the biggest difference in the middle sector, where he recorded a 34.297—fastest among all midfield drivers. This section includes high-speed corners like Copse, Maggots, Becketts, and Chapel, which reward strong aerodynamic load and stability—two key areas improved by the new upgrade and the favorable behavior of the C4 tire compound. The VF-25 also performed solidly through medium-speed corners such as Turns 6 and 7, although it still lost a few km/h on the straights, likely due to a higher-downforce rear wing and a body shape that induces more aerodynamic drag.
Despite ongoing weaknesses in top speed, this is a clear improvement compared to the beginning of the season. Early-season issues—partially addressed with the Suzuka tweaks and the Imola package—are now being rectified with a development path that’s finally yielding results.
Ocon struggles in Q2: outlap issues and flat spot compromise his pace
On the other side of the garage, Esteban Ocon ended qualifying in a disappointing 15th place. The French driver trailed behind Bearman throughout FP3—where the VF-25 first showed signs of progress after setup changes—and again in qualifying. This gap between teammates is not new and has appeared at previous high-speed tracks such as Jeddah and Suzuka.
Ocon failed to improve during his final Q2 attempt, despite better track conditions. A compromised outlap was a key factor:
“The margins are always tight and unfortunately there were some issues during the outlap at the end of Q2, which meant my final attempt wasn’t clean,” Ocon explained.
Onboard footage reveals that Ocon had to brake heavily in Turn 3 during the outlap to make room for Max Verstappen, who was on a flying lap. That move caused a front-lock and a flat spot on his tires, compromising his final attempt. This isn’t the first time Haas has faced trouble optimizing tire prep on outlaps—Bearman encountered a similar issue in Q2 at Jeddah. In this case, the problem was more related to traffic than internal error.
Beyond qualifying: can the VF-25 maintain performance over race distance?
Looking ahead to Sunday’s Grand Prix, the VF-25 will need to prove that the improvements also translate to consistent race pace. Historically, at circuits dominated by high-speed corners—such as Suzuka, Imola, and Barcelona—Haas has struggled to maintain its qualifying performance across a full race distance.
Silverstone will therefore act as a true benchmark for Haas to verify whether the new floor delivers improvements in tire management during long runs. Both Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman will need to race aggressively, especially given their starting positions and the difficulty of overtaking due to small performance gaps and the car’s lower straight-line speed caused by aerodynamic drag.
In FP2, the Haas team was the only one to test long-run pace on the hard tire compound, posting lap times comparable to rivals who were on softer rubber. For the race, Haas has a fresh set of medium and hard tires available, while their remaining sets are used softs from qualifying. This means they will likely opt for either a one-stop strategy (medium to hard) or a two-stop race incorporating softs.
As Ocon noted: “We’ll see what the weather brings tomorrow. If tire degradation is high, that could create opportunities. But at the moment, it looks more difficult than the last two races. That said, we’re heading in the right direction and will give our best tomorrow.”
Team principal Ayao Komatsu is also optimistic and has set a clear target: “Tomorrow we must give everything starting from P14 and P18. The goal is to finish in the top ten and score points.”
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