Despite acknowledging the challenges that the Shanghai circuit will present, the Haas driver remains confident in the team’s potential.
On the eve of the first event of the season featuring the Sprint format, Haas arrives in Shanghai with six points in the Constructors’ Championship thanks to the seventh-place finish secured by Oliver Bearman in the recent Australian Grand Prix. It was a very positive performance from the British driver, who crossed the line in his VF-26 as the first driver behind all the top teams.
Bearman aiming for a repeat
A result that the #87 driver will be eager to replicate or even improve in China, where he arrived with a great deal of determination: “I’m happy to be back and very excited, especially after a good first race of the season for us,” he said. “It’s a technical circuit with very high G-forces to manage, so it’s actually good that the Chinese Grand Prix comes early in the year! It’s the first Sprint with these new regulations, so if we thought last week was a challenge, this weekend will be even more so for everyone. I have no doubt that if we stay united as a team, we will show once again why we deserve to fight at the front positions of the midfield.”
First points for Ocon?
His teammate Esteban Ocon, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on the top ten in Melbourne, even though he came close to that milestone. The French driver also highlighted the main challenges presented by a circuit like Shanghai: “It’s a really great track, but it’s also a challenge for everyone,” he admitted. “The complex sequence of Turns 1, 2 and 3 is very demanding and technical, so you need a lot of confidence in the car. In China it will be a Sprint weekend, and it will be tough since we are still at the beginning of the year and there is still a lot to learn. The support we receive in China also grows every year, and it’s fantastic to see, so I’m looking forward to seeing our Chinese fans and hopefully we can achieve some good results.”
The 2026 season is rapidly proving that the midfield hierarchy is more fluid than ever, and Haas is positioning itself as a legitimate contender for the “best of the rest” title. With Oliver Bearman showing maturity beyond his years and Ocon providing the veteran experience needed to navigate the technical sectors of the Shanghai International Circuit, the American team is riding a wave of momentum. As the first Sprint Qualifying session approaches, the focus for Haas will be on rapid setup optimization. If they can find the sweet spot for the VF-26 early in the single practice session, Bearman might just find himself mixing it with the front-runners once again. The battle for the midfield has never been more intense.
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