Oliver Bearman leads Haas charge to P7 in Australia: “Best of the rest is a great result”. Oliver Bearman finishes seventh for Haas in the Australian Grand Prix.

Only the top teams ahead of Haas

Haas delivered an excellent overall performance in the opening round of the season at the Australian Grand Prix, with Oliver Bearman perfectly representing the work carried out by the American team by securing a strong seventh-place finish. The British driver ended the race behind only the three traditional top teams, confirming Haas’ competitiveness at the start of the new championship.

Starting from 12th on the grid, Ollie Bearman did not actually enjoy the strongest start to the race. However, a well-judged strategy from the team allowed him to work his way back into the points-paying positions before overtaking fellow British rookie Arvid Lindblad, who impressed with a very promising Formula 1 debut.

“It was a good race,” the English driver commented. “The first lap wasn’t the best, but after that we had really strong pace and managed to make a few overtakes, so I’m really happy because today we delivered a great performance. It’s a special feeling to start this new era of regulations in this way, and being ‘best of the rest’ is a great result for the team.

We benefited from a few retirements from drivers ahead of us, but even so we scored points and we took everything that was available. I’m proud of this team — finishing the race in P7 shows all the hard work they’ve put in.”

Close to a double points finish

Bearman’s teammate Esteban Ocon also came close to finishing inside the points. Starting just behind Bearman on the grid, the French driver gained several positions during the race but ultimately failed to get past the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, crossing the finish line in 11th place.

Despite missing out on the top ten, the race still highlighted the progress made by Haas compared to previous seasons.

“It was a disappointing race because we should have been in the points after the excellent start we had, where we gained several positions,” Ocon explained. “After that, however, the pace just wasn’t there anymore and we struggled with significant rear instability. It was frustrating because I think the car had the potential to achieve much more.

Even though we still need some time to improve, we learned a lot this weekend, so we’ll see how things go in the next race. I’m happy for the points the team scored here in Melbourne, because we worked very hard over the winter break to prepare for the season.”

Oliver Bearman’s impressive P7 finish has officially established Haas as the early leader of the 2026 midfield pack, effectively claiming the “best of the rest” title behind the three powerhouse teams. While Esteban Ocon’s struggle with rear stability prevented a double points finish, the overall data from Melbourne suggests that the Haas chassis is highly competitive, leaving the team well-positioned to capitalize on further development as they head into the first Sprint weekend of the season in Shanghai.