Haas drivers frustrated after disappointing F1 Austrian GP: “We were too slow”. Haas left searching for answers after disappointing Austrian GP.

Bearman: “A difficult day. We were slow throughout the race”

A weekend to forget.

It was a disappointing weekend at Spielberg for Haas, with neither driver able to make meaningful progress from their starting positions. In fact, things went backwards for the American team. Oliver Bearman started 13th on the grid but immediately lost two places at the start, forcing the British driver onto an alternative strategy in an attempt to recover.

Never close to the direct rivals

After extending his opening stint, Oliver Bearman benefited from Carlos Sainz‘s retirement by making his first pit stop under the Virtual Safety Car. However, despite the strategic opportunity, his race ended with only 14th place after completing his second stop.

“It was a difficult day and we struggled to find any pace. We had a really poor start and lost a lot of positions, and after that I just got stuck in traffic. I was lucky to benefit from the Virtual Safety Car, but at the same time we were very slow throughout the entire race. I did my best, but we weren’t even close to Audi, Racing Bulls or Alpine—we were much slower. Today came as a surprise, but the balance was completely off as well and I just couldn’t make it work. Based on what I was feeling in the car, I’m not actually that surprised.”

More positions lost

Unlike his teammate, Esteban Ocon gained several places at the start. However, as the two-stop strategy unfolded, the Frenchman steadily lost ground before eventually being overtaken by Franco Colapinto, dropping to 16th place at the finish.

“It’s exactly what we expected. We know there’s a problem with the car, but I think the positive aspect is that we extracted everything possible from it this weekend. We maximised the car’s potential and tried changing every component we could, but we’re still facing the same issue.”

“The start was incredible, and we worked really hard as a team to achieve the best result possible. We overtook everyone at the start and, after the opening lap, I was almost inside the points. I was fighting with the Racing Bulls, but before long I was being lapped, which is difficult to accept. We need to fix the car—that’s the first step. We’re missing a huge amount of downforce, and the problem is that the tyres keep sliding. I can hold on for the first few laps, but then the other cars simply overtake me.”