Haas endured a particularly difficult Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, failing to score points and leaving the team frustrated by another disappointing result. After a promising start to the season with Oliver Bearman, the American outfit has seen its performance decline following the introduction of its first major upgrade package.
Team Principal Ayao Komatsu expressed clear frustration with the team’s overall performance across the weekend. His analysis was direct, as he highlighted issues both with the car’s pace and with the team’s operational execution.
“This weekend the car was not fast enough and I think operationally we were not good enough,” he said.
Komatsu added: “If you look at the part of the race where Ollie was on the hard tyres, his pace was good, but from day one of this weekend we did not operate at the level we should be operating at, and that had a knock-on effect all the way to today. In the race, communication was not good enough.
“Yes, the car needs to be improved and made faster, but we are not extracting the maximum from it. As a team, we need to look in the mirror and improve very quickly.”
Komatsu stressed that Haas failed to maximize the potential available, with clear consequences in both qualifying and the race.
Esteban Ocon’s struggles
Esteban Ocon finished the race in 13th place after starting from 17th on the grid. The French driver struggled heavily with rear tyre degradation, which forced Haas into an unplanned three-stop strategy.
Esteban Ocon explained: “It was a very difficult race. We were not able to make the tyres last and keep them alive throughout the race. We had to stop three times because we could not keep the rear tyres alive; they were completely finished every time we ended a stint. It was very painful and we tried to hold on, but by the end of the race we had no pace.”
He continued: “We need to analyse the set-up in depth. I think we got the weekend wrong from FP2 until now, so hopefully we can do something better in Austria.”
Esteban Ocon also underlined that qualifying has become a recurring issue. Since the upgrades were introduced, he has started 17th in each of the last three races.
Bearman’s second consecutive retirement and reliability concerns
Oliver Bearman was forced to retire due to reliability problems, despite showing acceptable pace during certain phases of the race. It was his second consecutive retirement after Monaco.
The Ferrari junior commented: “It was tough, but we expected it. I don’t think we were out of position; if anything, we were further ahead than we should have been with good pace. Unfortunately, with just a few laps to go, I was in P13, which would have become P11 with the two retirements ahead, and there was a problem with the car. So we had to retire.”
The young driver acknowledged that the team must respond quickly: “We have work to do. It was a difficult weekend and we will try to understand what happened so we can improve for the next race.”
Haas, currently seventh in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, has seen its competitiveness fade since the upgrades were introduced. The Barcelona circuit, traditionally one of the most revealing tracks on the calendar, exposed weaknesses in single-lap pace, race management, operations and communication.
Komatsu and both drivers agree that a deep analysis is now required, along with rapid improvements ahead of the upcoming races, starting with the Austrian Grand Prix.
Leave a Reply