New car will make its track debut next week during behind-closed-doors testing in Barcelona
A the American team from , revealed this Monday (19) the first images of its car for 2026, which will be driven again by the Frenchman Esteban Ocon and the British Oliver Bearman. The team will maintain its traditional colors for its eleventh season in the main motorsport category, competing with the Haas VF-26 car, which has white, red and black as its main colors.
“Like all teams, we face the challenge of competing in 2025 and simultaneously designing and now building these cars under the new regulations for the 2026 season,” said American team owner Gene Haas.
Like the other 10 F1 teams, the new car will make its debut on the track next week during behind-closed-doors testing in Barcelona. “It was a monumental effort from the entire team to work within such a tight deadline, from the end of last season until getting the cars on the track in January,” highlighted team boss, Japanese Ayao Komatsu.
The vehicles will undergo significant evolution this season, as they will need to adapt to new technical regulations that will make them smaller and lighter. The power unit, which has been a hybrid since 2014, will also undergo changes, with a greater contribution from electrical energy and the use of 100% sustainable fuels.
“Clearly, the biggest change is in the engine, and that will be key to being prepared. It’s an exciting challenge and a different way of driving than before,” said Ocon, who will be competing in his tenth season in Formula 1. For his teammate Bearman, the rule changes will create a lot of uncertainty when the cars are lined up for the first races of the season.
“Everything I’ve seen from the team is positive, but we don’t know how we compare to the others. And we’ll only know that in qualifying in Australia,” said the Brit. With 79 points, Haas finished eighth among the ten teams in the 2025 Constructors’ World Championship. The new season begins in Melbourne, at the Australian Grand Prix.
*With information from AFP
