The Haas Formula 1 team has brought its first true evolutionary upgrade package of the 2025 season to the Silverstone Grand Prix. While the previous technical updates introduced earlier in the season were mainly aimed at controlling the bouncing phenomenon that plagued the car’s early outings, the latest modifications—targeted at the floor and the entrance to the sidepods—have been specifically designed to enhance mechanical grip and aerodynamic load stability. These changes are expected to give the drivers greater confidence behind the wheel, especially during qualifying sessions where every tenth of a second counts.
Looking at the performance trajectory of the Haas VF-25 throughout the current Formula 1 season, a clear pattern has emerged: the American team’s car has generally performed better on race day than in qualifying. The car has often struggled during the single-lap shootout, with several early eliminations in Q1 exposing a lack of consistency. This recurring issue prompted Haas to introduce a new upgrade package at Silverstone aimed at improving traction and increasing the car’s overall performance.
Upon visual inspection of the VF-25, the first notable change is found in the area around the air inlets that channel cool air to the radiators inside the sidepods. This entire section has undergone a complete redesign. The inlets are now narrower and no longer feature the previous rounded contours. Instead, they have adopted a more compact and squared-off profile, which also frees up space in the undercut region—a crucial area for airflow management.
Additionally, the upper “lip” of the sidepod inlet has been revised. The new design now resembles the aerodynamic philosophies seen on rival cars, featuring a profile that extends beyond the width of the cooling intakes. The lines are now sharper and more angular, contributing to a different aerodynamic flow. This design evolution also required a rework of the mirror mounting system.
Further upgrades are concentrated on the floor of the VF-25, where Haas engineers—operating out of the team’s base in Maranello—intervened in several key aerodynamic zones. These include the Venturi channel inlets, the outer floor edge, and the more concealed lower surfaces. Each of these areas plays a critical role in the generation of ground effect and the car’s overall aerodynamic efficiency.
According to the American outfit, the revised floor geometry has been engineered to increase the efficiency of ground-effect downforce, particularly under lateral loads. The changes aim to improve aerodynamic load and stability through medium- and high-speed corners, where the VF-25 previously lacked consistency. This should, in turn, give the drivers—particularly Esteban Ocon and Nico Hülkenberg—more confidence during aggressive single-lap runs in qualifying.
In qualifying conditions, when the cars are pushed to their absolute limits, the weaknesses of the VF-25—especially its lack of grip and stability in fast corners—have been particularly evident, compromising its pure performance potential. In contrast, over long stints during race conditions, where drivers do not operate at the edge of the performance envelope at every corner, the VF-25 has consistently shown an ability to manage tyre degradation effectively and stage comebacks from poor grid positions.
This struggle in qualifying is not unique to Haas. It is a recurring theme even for the Scuderia Ferrari team, which like Haas, has openly acknowledged the need to make a leap forward in qualifying to avoid being overly reliant on race pace for damage limitation. Often, the strong race performance of the Ferrari SF-25 has not been enough to overcome poor starting positions.
Esteban Ocon—who is currently in his first season driving for Haas—highlighted this issue ahead of the 2025 British Grand Prix: “At the moment, we are encountering some difficulties in qualifying. Compared to race pace, we seem to be struggling more, and the reasons are fairly clear to us.”
One of the key factors contributing to this challenge in qualifying lies in the lack of car stability, particularly noticeable in high-speed corners. The 2024 Haas VF-24 was a highly versatile and efficient machine, but it lacked pure aerodynamic downforce. This led the engineering team to adopt aggressive design solutions to increase vertical aerodynamic load. Confidence in the VF-25 was high before the season began, but the real-world track conditions exposed limitations.
While the VF-24 was extremely fast on straights due to its low drag, the VF-25 has shifted in the opposite direction: it now generates more downforce—although this downforce is not always easy to harness—and suffers from increased drag. This negatively impacts top speed, particularly in qualifying scenarios when the DRS (Drag Reduction System) is activated.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal of Haas F1 Team, explained: “We knew we had to increase the overall aerodynamic load, and we focused heavily on that. On that front, I think we did a reasonable job. However, we didn’t do as well in terms of aerodynamic efficiency. When we realised what we could have done better, it was already too late. Now, we need to focus and keep pushing forward.”
Indeed, while the VF-25 has significantly more downforce compared to its predecessor, extracting it remains a challenge—especially through high-speed corners, where the car still suffers from some instability. During the race, when peak speeds are slightly lower and tyre management becomes a greater priority, the VF-25 becomes more predictable and easier to drive. In Ocon’s case, the car currently also lacks some rotation in low-speed corners, although it compensates with excellent traction out of the slower sections.
This Silverstone update package represents the first true step forward in terms of car development for Haas. All previous upgrades had been primarily intended to mitigate bouncing and improve drivability, but the latest revisions are squarely aimed at enhancing outright performance.
Komatsu added: “This package is meant to improve our overall performance. It should also give us more grip and better stability, which translates into more driver confidence—especially for qualifying. So, the goal is to enhance both qualifying and race performance. It’s not a massive step, but if it delivers what we expect, it could make a real difference considering how close the midfield is.”
Esteban Ocon was the first to test the new components during Free Practice 1 at Silverstone. He confirmed: “We are working to try to improve our qualifying performance. This weekend, we’re bringing some updates to try to enhance performance and bring the balance closer to where it should be with new tyres and a full qualifying setup.”
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