By Jana Van Nieuwenborgh
The TGR Haas F1 Team has unveiled its plans for the 2026 Formula One season as it enters a new regulatory era.
With new regulations coming into force for the 2026 season, all 11 teams have faced an enormous challenge in preparing for the upcoming season. While fighting at the front might be pushing it for Haas, the American team could lead the midfield pack based on the progress they have made in recent years.
“All of the lessons learnt across the previous two eras of car are being put into practice on the new one,” said Oliver Bearman. “We’ve been bringing upgrades and bringing performance recently, which shows that the aerodynamics team is working very well.”
In mid-January, the American team revealed the VF-26 with a striking white and red livery. The revised livery highlights increased branding from Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR), reflecting the expansion of the partnership into a title partnership for 2026.
Unchanged driver line-up
Haas will enter the upcoming season with an unchanged driver pairing. Frenchman
Esteban Ocon and Brit Oliver Bearman are set to compete throughout the 2026 season.
Ocon begins his second season with the team, carrying increased expectations following the 2025 campaign. Team principal Ayao Komatsu shared he had hoped for stronger results from the experienced Frenchman last year. However, he has expressed confidence that greater familiarity with the team could allow both drivers to extract more consistent performance in 2026.
Meanwhile, Bearman continues his progression after completing his rookie season in Formula One.
The team has also signed Jack Doohan as one of their reserve drivers following his departure from Alpine. He will fulfill his duties as a reserve driver alongside Japanese racer Ryo Hirakawa.
Early running and Barcelona shakedown
Haas was among the teams to carry out early shakedown running at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, using the permitted three days of track time to gather additional data on the VF-26.
On Day 1, Esteban Ocon was at the wheel for Haas’ first official running of the week. The team focused primarily on reliability and system checks. Haas emphasized the importance of gathering mileage and data early, noting the effort required to prepare the new car for its first real track time.
“From Fiorano testing with Ollie to here, people have climbed mountains to make this car work and it’s been really good,” Ocon said after his session. “We are dealing with the plan, learning as it goes.”
Day 2 saw Ollie Bearman take over driving duties. After a productive initial session, Haas encountered reliability issues which brought the car back into the garage earlier than planned.
On Day 3, both Bearman and Ocon enjoyed seat time in the VF-26. Both drivers helped to build the team’s data bank.
“We’re just constantly learning about the car,” said Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. “With the new regulations, on both the power-unit and chassis side, it’s a big change in terms of how you get the performance out of the car and how to be consistent both in one-lap qualifying style performance and then sustained running.”
“Everything we learn here though puts us in a better spot for going to Bahrain testing,” he added.
Haas will now analyse the shakedown data ahead of the official pre-season testing in Bahrain, with an eye toward further refining the VF-26 ahead of the season opener in Melbourne on March 8.
Competitive outlook and challenges
The 2026 regulations present a reset for much of the grid. This change is perceived as both a challenge and an opportunity for many teams.
Ayao Komatsu has also acknowledged broader challenges, stating energy management and optimization of the VF-26’s performance as key areas of focus for the team.
“Firstly, before we go racing, and even testing, we need to get on top of energy management, that’s the huge one,” said Komatsu. “I don’t know if we all understand the full extent of the challenge because we don’t know what we don’t know.”
He added: “For the first few races, rather than setting a sporting target, it’s more a target for us. First and foremost, get on top of PU management, then aerodynamic development.”
Considering its scale compared to other teams, success at Haas is especially relative, so the objective for 2026 should be more of the same.
The American team ended last season eight in the standings. Although it was one spot lower than the previous season, they scored 21 more points in a much more competitive season.
Both drivers are capable of scoring points for the team, so the priority for Haas should be on providing them with a car that can help achieve it.
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