Following the Miami Grand Prix, Haas is growing concerned about being overtaken by Alpine in the constructors’ championship. Alpine’s latest upgrade package successfully resolved a high-speed weakness on their A526, whereas Haas made minimal adjustments to their car. Speaking to the media, Oliver Bearman noted:
“They had a high-speed issue, and then they seem to have resolved it, and they brought a lot of upgrades for this weekend. We didn’t bring anything, so we expected a difficult weekend — and it was.”
Bearman explained that Alpine’s steps forward made it difficult for Haas to keep pace, especially after what had been a strong start to the season. He commented:
“I think the true pace came out. It was good at the start of Q1, but we were actually on quite a different run plan compared to the others. I felt like we had partially closed the gap to Alpine, for example. But they only did one set of tires and showed their true pace in Q2 — and we weren’t in the battle with them.”
Despite the setback, Haas remains confident about the upcoming races, with plans to introduce significant upgrades in Montreal. Oliver Bearman expressed optimism: “Montreal should be cooler, giving Haas the opportunity to put Alpine under pressure again. We are missing three or four tenths to get in there comfortably. Both drivers lost time in the pit lane, which compromised the undercut on Albon.”
As Alpine continues to improve as the season progresses, Haas is determined to turn these recent concerns into a focused development path to reclaim its position at the front of the midfield battle.
Ultimately, the current performance swing between Haas and Alpine highlights just how aggressive the mid-season development race is, making the upcoming upgrade packages critical for Haas to regain their competitive edge in the midfield standings.
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