Bearman: Haas 'Chasing Its Tail' With Tricky Canadian GP Upgrades

Oliver Bearman admits Haas has been "chasing its tail" throughout the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, struggling to unlock the potential of its latest upgrade package. The new sidepods and revised floor offer a clear step in downforce on paper, but in reality, they have made the VF-26 increasingly sensitive and difficult to drive.

Why it matters:

Haas brought upgrades to Montreal aiming to solidify their midfield position, but the package's extreme sensitivity has forced the team into a reactive loop. Breaking parc fermé to revert Bearman's setup—which forced a pit lane start for the Sprint—highlights how far off the baseline the car currently is and the compromises the team is making just to get through the weekend.

The details:

• Bearman qualified 16th, just ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon, after a Saturday spent uncovering issues like severe front locking that should have been resolved in FP1.
• The team deliberately broke parc fermé to reset the setup after a difficult Friday, sacrificing track position for a more usable balance.
• The setup trade-off: Montreal's bumpy circuit exposed the car's fragile window. Running the car stiff for ultimate lap time made it nearly undriveable over the curbs, while softening the suspension compromised corner entries.
• Bearman described the current package as being on a "knife edge," where pushing for performance immediately strips away driver confidence.

What's next:

Haas must urgently find a setup window that marries downforce with drivability. Until they establish a reliable baseline, the team risks continuing to react to problems rather than proactively extracting performance from their upgraded car.