Bearman on Haas upgrade chaos: ‘We’ve been chasing our tail’

Oliver Bearman has described Haas’s Canadian Grand Prix weekend as a frustrating loop, suggesting the team has been stuck in a cycle of reaction rather than progression as it struggles to unlock the potential of its latest upgrade package.

Why it matters:

The American outfit arrived in Montreal with new sidepods and a revised floor aimed at improving airflow stability and downforce. However, the package has proven difficult to drive, forcing the team to constantly adjust between setups and compromises rather than finding a consistent advantage.

The Details:

• "Chasing Our Tail": Bearman described the weekend as a constant struggle to find a working solution, noting they haven't found a configuration that works yet.
• Performance vs. Drivability: The new upgrade has put the VF-26 on a "knife edge," offering potential speed but making the car extremely sensitive to bumps and setups.
• Front Locking Issues: As Bearman finally pushed the car to the limit in qualifying, new problems like front locking emerged, revealing that early baseline running had left them behind the curve.
• Resetting the Weekend: The team reverted the car from parc fermé to reset the setup after a difficult Friday Sprint, but the underlying balance issues remain.

What's next:

The team's priority now is finding a balance between responsiveness and drivability on the bumpy circuit. Until they master this "knife edge," the potential of the new package remains untapped.