Many teams showed up in Monaco with various technical updates, including Haas, which introduced a new rear wing paired with a revised beam wing, aiming to deliver greater aerodynamic load.
In fact, last year the American team also came to Monte Carlo with a new rear wing, as in the previous season it had used the one built in 2022—designed for the first championship under the current regulations.
However, that wing, which debuted in Monaco in 2023, didn’t convince technically, failing to deliver the numbers engineers had expected. This led Haas engineers to design a new element for this season, aware there was still room to gain downforce.
“We also brought a new one last year, but it wasn’t as good as we expected. This time too I’ll reserve judgment until we see the performance, but we have a new rear wing with more aerodynamic load,” explained Haas Team Principal Ayao Komatsu on the eve of the Monaco GP.
The new wing uses the full allowed volume
The decision to create a new rear wing is also linked to the characteristics of the VF-24, last year’s car, which had high aerodynamic efficiency and was often among the fastest on the straights, but showed a lack of downforce, as seen in Monaco. For this reason, the team had already decided last year to invest resources in creating another high-downforce wing.
“Last year we had a very, very efficient car—fast on the straights but lacking aerodynamic load. So developing a higher-load wing required more resources, so to speak, while this year it was more natural,” Komatsu added.
In seeking maximum downforce, Haas exploited the full volume allowed by the technical regulations, slightly sacrificing efficiency—which is less critical in Monaco. The same approach was applied to the lower beam wing, whose angle was modified to generate more load and provide greater rear support, improving stability.
In free practice, the VF-25 limited by bouncing
One interesting aspect emerged from the first free practice session, fitting into a trend already observed earlier in the season. In Australia, the American team was at the back of the field, dealing with bouncing issues and aerodynamic instability in high-speed corners—problems that affected the first part of the season, even though engineers tried to counter them with updates both in Suzuka and with the first upgrade package in Imola last week.
The phenomenon returned in Monte Carlo, where Oliver Bearman reported bouncing during his best attempt, specifically in one of the fastest points of the track—the Swimming Pool section, a medium-high speed chicane. In that area, some cars, including the Haas, were visibly hitting the asphalt.
Looking at the data, the British driver was among the slowest in that sector and, more importantly, was forced to lift off the throttle, clearly reducing performance. Although Monaco doesn’t feature many high-speed sections, there are still areas like Tabac or the Swimming Pool where downforce from the car’s floor is crucial.
The fact that the asphalt isn’t completely smooth and has some bumps demands certain mechanical compromises, though less than on other tracks. This will be one of the key aspects Haas must address ahead of FP2 and overnight, as they search for the right compromise not to undermine performance in the slow corners—where the VF-25 has shown its best qualities so far this season.
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