Haas not worried despite two engine covers broken: “Aggressive solutions chosen”. Haas experienced a curious incident with the engine cover failing in F1 testing.

Just like last year, Haas focused entirely on long runs and race simulations during pre-season testing, paying little attention to low-fuel stints. As a result, Oliver Bearman, also hindered by technical issues, didn’t manage to complete a single one.

During his day and a half of testing, the British driver damaged a section of the floor after running wide onto the gravel, prompting the mechanics to carry out thorough checks. He was also involved in a peculiar incident on the morning of the third day when the engine cover on his VF-25 failed, forcing him to return to the pits.

At that point, in addition to conducting the necessary checks to understand the cause of the failure and whether any other components had been damaged, the team had to make emergency modifications, which slightly compromised performance.

The curious aspect is that this was not the first “exploding” engine cover on the VF-25, as the exact same issue had occurred during the filming day at Silverstone in mid-February, but on the other side of the car.

When the same incident happens twice within a few weeks, it’s clear that it is not just an oversight but something that needs to be fixed to prevent it from happening again in the future, when it could cost the team valuable points in the standings.

Speaking after the conclusion of the Bahrain tests, Team Principal Ayao Komatsu explained that the team had pushed for more aggressive solutions in that area and fully understands why two engine covers failed unexpectedly.

“It just happened that we were too aggressive. We know why [the failures occurred], so we will fix it for Melbourne. But it’s not ideal; we had the same problem during the filming day. Then it happened again on the third day of testing, and that shouldn’t happen. It was a modification we made compared to last year, but it was too aggressive,” the Team Principal explained.

Beyond how the fastening screws that hold the body panels in place are applied, the way carbon fiber is managed—both in terms of its weave and thickness—can also play a significant role. The fewer layers used, the lighter the component will be.

Photos revealed that when air entered the sidepods, increasing internal pressure, the entire side structure showed signs of failure, with visible fractures. However, corrective measures are expected to be introduced in time for the season opener in Melbourne to prevent a recurrence of such an incident.