The latest Haas VF-26 upgrade made the car easier to drive at Spa-Francorchamps, but Oliver Bearman has warned that the encouraging progress is nowhere near enough to restore the team’s place in Formula 1’s midfield battle. After testing a new nose-to-front-wing mounting and revised front wing at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman said Haas would need four or five more improvements of a similar scale to fight for points on pure performance.
Haas needed to respond, and that response arrived at Spa. After beginning the season strongly before taking a conspicuous and concerning step backwards, the American team introduced several notable changes in Belgium designed to make the VF-26 less difficult to drive and unlock better overall performance.
Over the previous two months, Haas’s rivals had all developed their cars, first catching and then pulling away from Ayao Komatsu’s team in the Constructors’ Championship. Having initially occupied fourth place, Haas had fallen to seventh with 21 points, leaving the team under growing pressure in the Formula 1 Constructors’ standings.
Haas VF-26 upgrade responds to drivers’ concerns
The first major developments for the VF-26 arrived in Canada. However, although the Canadian Grand Prix upgrade package was intended to improve performance, it also made the car more difficult for the drivers to handle. At Spa, Haas instead attempted to move in the direction requested by Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon, with the principal objective of making the VF-26 easier to drive.
A new front wing appeared in Belgium, accompanied by nose mounts that differed significantly from those used during the opening nine rounds of the season. The revised supports are connected to the nose through two lateral vanes that leave them positioned several millimetres away from the nose itself, effectively creating an airflow slot.
The nose tip was also revised, along with the mechanism controlling the movable flaps. The main plane now features a small curl close to the endplate, while the final movable flap has been unloaded through its central section. Haas also modified the endplate by moving the diveplane rearwards and lowering it compared with the specification used at Silverstone.
The footplate’s outer edge now develops into a much more pronounced curl. At the rear of the assembly, an outward-angled flow deflector remains in place to encourage the outwash effect, helping to direct airflow around the outside of the front tyre. The complete VF-26 front-wing redesign was therefore focused on improving the car’s aerodynamic behaviour and usability rather than simply pursuing additional load.
Oliver Bearman encouraged by improved VF-26 behaviour
The modifications appear to have delivered their intended effect, with the VF-26 proving less difficult to drive. Oliver Bearman’s assessment after testing the revised configuration provided the clearest indication of the progress Haas had made.
“We went back and forth trying to understand how this solution behaved in practice. As it was the first time we had used it, we had to conduct a direct comparison, so FP1 was mainly a session of trial and error,” Oliver Bearman explained.
“Overall, I’m quite satisfied because the car behaved well. With the new wing, we slightly improved some of the characteristics we have struggled with during the last few events, so I’m reasonably happy. We will do our best to keep pushing.”
Oliver Bearman stressed that the front-wing changes had not transformed the VF-26 or produced a straightforward increase in aerodynamic load. Instead, their main benefit was allowing Haas to operate the car more effectively across an entire lap.
“The front wing is not the bodywork component that transforms the car, but it can improve some of its characteristics. We have not really gained downforce, so to speak, but we have managed to put the car in a better operating window throughout the lap while also giving the drivers more confidence. I’m quite satisfied with that.”
Haas still needs several major steps to fight for points
The modifications earned a positive initial verdict, but Oliver Bearman made clear that one successful development would not be enough. Haas remains a considerable distance behind Racing Bulls, the team currently regarded as one of the midfield benchmarks, as well as Alpine. The warning follows a difficult period in which Oliver Bearman and Ayao Komatsu acknowledged Haas’s performance decline.
“Having said that, we are still a long way from where we should be. We are nowhere near Racing Bulls or Alpine, so yes, we have taken a small step forwards, but we need four or five steps of this magnitude before we can fight for points through our own performance rather than because other drivers retire,” Oliver Bearman concluded.
The Spa package has therefore given Haas a more manageable VF-26 and greater driver confidence, but it has not erased the performance deficit that developed as rival teams upgraded their cars. Oliver Bearman’s verdict leaves no ambiguity: the revised front wing represents useful progress, but Haas will require several more developments of comparable significance before it can regularly challenge Racing Bulls and Alpine on merit.
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