Days earlier at the 2026 F1 Austrian GP, Haas’ Esteban Ocon spoke about the lack of downforce his VF-26 had throughout the weekend. The Frenchman finished the Austrian GP in a frustrating P16.
Following the end of the race, he noted the severe loss of rear aerodynamic load. A problem that has been persistent since Barcelona and even Monaco.
Ahead of the 2026 F1 British GP, Ocon spoke about it once again and shared how Haas has been investigating the unexplained loss of rear downforce.
Haas will be trying different aerodynamic parts at the 2026 F1 British GP
When asked where Haas was in terms of diagnosing the problem, the 29-year-old revealed that the team plans to switch aerodynamic parts throughout the 2026 F1 British GP weekend in hopes of isolating the defective component.
Ocon also took the time to highlight the team’s effort following the 2026 F1 Austrian GP. He shared that while Haas did not have an answer yet, they will continue to run diagnostic tests through the weekend.
“Yeah, we are going to be scanning through different parts again this weekend. We have a different rear wing; we have a different floor. So we are looking for what the issue is.
“It’s been quite a few events, but the team is pushing hard to try and identify where it comes from. There’s only been three or four days since the car has finished a race, so we don’t have the answer yet from the last race. But we are still scanning through different parts, and until it gets fixed, we will keep that going, which is very good.”
The downforce deficit is not due to an upgraded component
Esteban Ocon then clarified that the loss of rear downforce stems from an older component rather than an upgrade that the team brought to Austria.
While his teammate Ollie Bearman will continue to use the upgraded floor 13, Ocon enters the 2026 F1 British GP with an older iteration, floor 9.
“No, it’s not a new one. It’s one that has been only scanned in Barcelona, I think.
“No, that is the number 13. I think mine is 9 at this stage. So it’s not all the ones which have been repaired, but it should be fine. Visually, it looks good. We’ve seen it, the team has chosen it.”
Haas faced significant struggles with balance during the race
Ocon also explained how the lack of rear downforce resulted in him facing significant balance issues with his Haas during the 2026 F1 Austrian GP.
According to the Frenchman, the severe lack of rear aerodynamic grip forced Haas to run a compromised rearward balance. This had detrimental effects on his tyre performance, which resulted in rapid tyre degradation and poor race pace.
“No, what has been really the case is, yes, I lack a lot of rear grip, basically. I can’t add as much flap, for example, so we are quite a lot less, or quite a lot more rearward in terms of our balance compared to all these cars, for example. And more importantly, it’s in the race. In the race with high degradation, I’m killing the tyres, basically. Because I need to sustain some pace to be fighting with the other people. I’m still managing a lot of the tyres.”
This prevented Ocon from being competitive on track as it would only increase the damage done to his tyres. As evident from the 2026 F1 Barcelona-Catalunya GP, where he made a three-stop instead of the usual two.
The Frenchman expressed that this was a serious problem, especially during the race, and he hopes Haas will be able to solve it soon.
“But when I want to push, I’m just doing double the damage than what I should be doing. So in Barcelona, I needed to do one more stop compared to everyone, and in Austria we didn’t, but it was obviously very difficult to keep the car on track. So on one lap I can more or less manage, even though it’s not optimum and we miss some performance, but in the race that’s where it’s a big problem.”
