Haas endured another major setback at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix as both Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon retired with technical problems at Zandvoort. The double DNF extended a difficult run for the American team and allowed Audi to close to within just five points of seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Haas had already been struggling badly for results before arriving in the Netherlands, having failed to score a point since the Monaco Grand Prix. Since that weekend in the Principality, both Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon have consistently finished outside the top 10, but the team had never suffered a double retirement during that sequence. At Zandvoort, however, both Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon were forced out by technical issues, in the first and second halves of the race respectively.
Oliver Bearman’s Haas failure remains a mystery
Following the interruption to the Grand Prix caused by Max Verstappen’s accident, Oliver Bearman was forced to stop his VF-26 on the formation lap, requiring the drivers to complete another lap before the restart. Haas has not yet established exactly what caused the problem.
“We had a good start and a good first lap, then obviously the red flag came out,” Oliver Bearman explained. “After that, the engine switched off during the formation lap and, because we haven’t had the chance to test the car yet, we’re not entirely sure what the problem was, but from my side I felt a complete shutdown, which is a shame.”
“It was a really horrible weekend, not what we would have wanted on our return, but upgrades are coming next week and I really hope they can improve our performance.”
The upgrades will be particularly important for a Haas team that has now gone several race weekends without adding to its points total.
Esteban Ocon retires with Ferrari power unit problem
Esteban Ocon was able to take the restart normally, but the Frenchman also failed to reach the chequered flag. In his case, the cause of the retirement is already clearer, with the problem identified as being related to the Ferrari power unit.
The technical failure brought an end to Esteban Ocon’s run of finishing every Grand Prix from the season opener in Australia through to Hungary.
“We haven’t had any reliability problems this year, this is the first one, and we think it’s related to the power unit, but we’ll have to investigate it first to fully understand it,” Esteban Ocon said. “Both cars had problems, so neither of us finished the race, but it wouldn’t have changed anything because we weren’t in the points anyway.”
“The upgrades are coming, they’re necessary, so we’ll see what impact they have.”
Audi closes to within five points of Haas
Haas’s problems have become even more significant because of Audi’s gradual recovery in the Constructors’ Championship. Nico Hulkenberg finished eighth at Zandvoort, scoring four points and reducing the gap between the two teams.
Audi will therefore arrive at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza only five points behind seventh-placed Haas, with the American team still on 21 points and Audi now up to 16. The developing battle can be followed in the latest Formula 1 Constructor Standings.
The next challenge will come at Monza, where Haas hopes its incoming upgrades can halt its difficult run and protect its position from Audi. The Italian Grand Prix is the next round on the 2026 Formula 1 calendar, placing immediate pressure on the team to understand its Zandvoort reliability problems and extract more performance from the VF-26.
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