Haas half-season review: A problem bigger than poor results

Haas is no longer Formula 1’s newest team, nor its only American outfit. Instead, the once-disruptive entrant risks becoming the grid’s forgotten team.

As witnessed all too often in Haas’s 11 years on the grid, the first half of the team’s 2026 season has seen flashes of magic followed by periods of dissolution, leaving Haas at the tail end of the midfield, or more aptly put, first of the backmarkers.

Haas’s financial limits leave F1 2026 campaign at risk

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And it’s all down to Haas‘s slow — and financially strapped — reaction to Formula 1’s development race.

Oliver Bearman, now in his second season in Formula 1, came charging out of the blocks this season to put Haas P4 in the Constructors’ Championship after two race weekends.

After finishing fifth at the Chinese Grand Prix, Bearman helped Haas climb to fourth in the standings with the team within one point of defending champions McLaren.

That, though, was it for the big points.

Esteban Ocon joined his teammate on the score sheet in Japan, with Bearman adding another point in Canada, and Ocon two in Monaco.

By the end of the Monte Carlo street race, Haas had fallen away from McLaren. While the Woking team up to 116 points after Monaco, Haas had only 21.

And then the points dried up. Completely.

Haas did not score a single point in the five races leading up to the summer break as the team was out-spent and out-developed by its rivals.

Point-scoring opportunities grew scarce as Racing Bulls, Audi and, at times, Alpine surged ahead in qualifying, leaving Haas unable to reach Q3.

From Barcelona to Hungary, Bearman secured a best qualifying position of P13, while Ocon’s best was 15th. Neither driver was able to translate that into points.

Team principal Ayao Komatsu says Haas simply does not have the budget to match its rivals.

“I wish,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media of F1 2026’s $215m budget cap ceiling. “We’re not.

“It’s one of the top priorities on my job list to be able to fund this team so that we can operate at the budget cap. Because that’s the baseline, right? We should be achieving that first step.

“We talked about us being out-developed. That’s not a reflection of, let’s say, incapability of our guys. I think our guys are doing, honestly, a fantastic job… But I’m not, so far, able to give them enough ammunition for our guys to show what they’re capable of.”

He added: “Really, honestly, it’s not fair on our guys to have that constraint, if you like. It’s like they’re fighting with both hands tied.”

It has left Haas in a precarious position.

No longer F1’s newest team, nor sole American team, it’s now an established team that is slowly but surely becoming anonymous – not only on the racetrack, but also with sponsors.

It also risks losing both of its drivers.

Bearman has, in his second season in Formula 1, emerged as a likely contender for a Ferrari race seat when one becomes available, having scored 18 of Haas’s 21 points.

While that is not expected to be an option for 2027, the Briton is on borrowed time at Haas with bigger and better awaiting.

As for Ocon, who has just three points on the board, the Frenchman was criticised by Komatsu at the beginning of the year when he said that “nobody’s satisfied with Esteban’s sporting result last year”.

The team boss and his driver are whispered to be on the outs with one another, rumours that have been denied by both parties, with Yuki Tsunoda reportedly in line to replace Ocon if it comes to that.

For now, though, Haas has 12 races remaining in F1 2026 to salvage its season.

The team did just that last year, and the year before, with the introduction of a big upgrade in the second half of the season.

However, this year’s development war with the all-new cars means every team is ploughing as much as it can within the cost cap into updating its car. And Haas has less finances than most.

More on Haas from PlanetF1.com

Esteban Ocon brushes aside Haas speculation as replacement talk continues

McLaren reserve lands surprise Haas F1 test as Formula 1 wait continues

Bearman’s parting line as he headed off for his summer break did not bode well for the team.

“I haven’t done a lap in the car this weekend and felt good, so we need to understand why and take a long and hard look at things,” he said.

It’s a 5/10 for F1 2026 part one, but I fear the score may drop as the season continues.

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