Haas concluded the 2025 Formula 1 season in eighth place in the Constructors’ Championship. The Komatsu-led team faced multiple challenges across the 24 races, with porpoising proving their greatest obstacle. The American outfit had to sacrifice the early part of the season to mitigate the aerodynamic bouncing that severely limited the VF-25’s performance. Later in the year, updates introduced in the United Kingdom and at the United States Grand Prix in Texas delivered significant progress. The Austin upgrade was not enough to secure sixth place in the championship, but it allowed Oliver Bearman to shine, in contrast to Esteban Ocon, who struggled in the final stages of the season.
Porpoising: Haas’ number one enemy, first identified in Melbourne
The Haas 2025 campaign started dramatically. In Melbourne, the team encountered porpoising issues that had not appeared during the three prior days of running at Sakhir. Both cars were uncompetitive in qualifying and the race, finishing at the back of the grid, more than six-tenths behind Sauber, the penultimate team. The troublesome aerodynamic bouncing was particularly severe through the fast Turns 9 and 10, leaving the VF-25 clearly the slowest car on track. Finding the right setup proved extremely difficult. “We have a dynamic and aerodynamic problem. It’s a combination of aerodynamic oscillations and rear downforce,” explained team principal Ayao Komatsu.
Improvement in Shanghai: circuits that favor medium and low-speed corners
The situation improved in Shanghai, where the track features more medium and low-speed corners, reducing the impact of high-speed issues. Ocon and Bearman did not excel in qualifying, but the car came alive in the race, a pattern seen multiple times throughout the season. Ocon finished seventh on track, promoted to fifth after the double Ferrari disqualification, while Oliver Bearman also scored points thanks to a strong strategy-assisted recovery. The characteristics of the Chinese Grand Prix were responsible for much of the progress seen between the first and second rounds. This rapid development enabled Komatsu’s team to introduce a revised floor at Suzuka, optimized in the central section to improve high-speed stability and mitigate the bouncing issues first seen in Australia. This update was developed using CFD simulations only, without wind tunnel testing. At the Japanese circuit, Oliver Bearman finished in the top ten in both qualifying and the race, validating the initial updates and confirming improvements in high-speed sections.
VF-25 performs better over race distances than on a single lap
The VF-25 generally excelled in long runs, with harder tires reducing the difficulty of extracting its potential over a single lap. The Jeddah–Miami–Imola triple-header posed challenges due to softer tire compounds and tracks favoring high-speed cars. During the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Haas introduced its first major performance update of the season: a completely new floor, a revised diffuser, a new rear corner, and a reworked rear suspension cover adapted to the airflow from the new aero package. “It’s essentially the same direction we took for Suzuka. We didn’t focus too much on headline numbers, but rather on the characteristics we needed,” Komatsu explained. While this first package did not deliver an immediate performance boost, it was essential to eliminate the VF-25’s limiting issues. Despite a strong weekend in Monaco, the first third of the season ended disappointingly and proved decisive in the points gap to Racing Bulls and Aston Martin in the final standings.
Silverstone marks Haas’ performance turnaround
Between Barcelona, Canada, and Austria, Haas scored only three points, all thanks to Ocon. The Frenchman showed competitiveness relative to his teammate on slower circuits, although later updates led him into a performance slump lasting until Abu Dhabi. The second update package debuted at Silverstone, featuring a new floor to increase downforce in medium-speed corners and revised sidepods. The VF-25’s performance leap was clear, and both drivers began consistently fighting for top ten positions in qualifying and races. The second half of the European season—from Silverstone to Monza—brought Haas closer to the front of the midfield, though ongoing developments by rival teams and challenges in maximizing results allowed Racing Bulls, Aston Martin, and Sauber to maintain a points advantage. Overall, Haas narrowed the qualifying gap to Williams to just two-tenths—less than half the deficit from the season’s first third—yet remained only tenth fastest in qualifying and just ahead of Alpine in races.
A new Haas and a resurgent Bearman in the final six races
The last segment of the season was Haas’ most productive, particularly thanks to Oliver Bearman. From Singapore onwards, Bearman delivered an excellent run, achieving the best performances of the year between Austin and Abu Dhabi. During this phase, the VF-25 ranked alongside Williams and Racing Bulls as one of the strongest midfield cars, securing over 40% of Haas’ season points. Meanwhile, Ocon experienced a downturn, often finishing behind Bearman in qualifying and races. The Austin upgrade package played a key role in Haas climbing the midfield ranks, with the VF-25 being the only 2025 car developed until the season’s end—a strategy aimed at challenging for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship. “The Silverstone package [with a new floor] confirmed the way we should develop the car, and in theory, it’s a further step forward from what we achieved at Silverstone. It was more predictable, more consistent,” Komatsu said, reflecting on the two crucial upgrades that revitalized the car.
Season highlights: Mexico and Brazil showcase the VF-25’s strengths
In Mexico, Oliver Bearman scored the best Haas result since 2018, finishing fourth on track—a performance far from coincidental. The characteristics of the Mexico City circuit played to the VF-25’s strengths, eliminating its speed deficit relative to rivals and highlighting improvements in the middle sector achieved during the season. The car also proved strong through the slow third sector. In São Paulo, Oliver Bearman added an excellent sixth place, while Ocon remained outside the points. The Frenchman began showing signs of recovery in the final races, finishing ahead of his teammate in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, demonstrating growth after the struggles between June and October. Qatar represented the most challenging weekend in the final third of the season, confirming that without compromises, the car’s high-speed cornering performance remained below rivals.
Season overview: Haas stronger in races than qualifying
Overall, Haas was generally more comfortable in race conditions than in qualifying, following a trend similar to Ferrari, with which they share many components. The team, particularly through Oliver Bearman, maximized results in the final races thanks to the Austin upgrade. However, this was insufficient to claim sixth in the Constructors’ standings, partly due to Ocon’s struggles. The early-season difficulties from March to July prevented Haas from realistically challenging Racing Bulls and Aston Martin for sixth place in the championship, despite an aggressive late-season development plan.
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