After the first shakedown tests of the F1 pre-season, Ollie Bearman struck a positive tone on where he and the Haas team stand at the start of 2026. Their testing started with an early run this past weekend at Ferrari’s test track in Fiorano before joining most of the rest of the field in Barcelona.
“It was a short winter break, but I think in typical racing driver form, after a few days, I was ready to feel some speed again. Fiorano was a good warm-up. Of course, it was wet all day, but we got through the plan that we had allocated, and now coming here, doing a bit more laps in the dry as well. It’s really nice to feel the car underneath me.”
Bearman not worried about 2026 F1 contender despite shakedown troubles
The team had some teething issues in the Wednesday morning shakedown session, but Bearman and Haas are taking it in stride. The second-year driver noted that, despite this, they’ve accumulated a great deal of running so far.
“You know, it’s very early stages in this cycle of regulations, and we’ve had so far, up until now, very clean laps and very clean running. It was impressive to come from Fiorano straight away, do our 200 kilometer limit, and arrive and be out at 9 AM two days later here in Barcelona with Esteban [Ocon].
“This morning, unfortunately, we had a small issue, but that’s what this is all about really. We expect to have these issues. It’s more everybody’s learning the car and the new bits and procedures.”
“Every lap is a learning experience”
“We completed more than two race distances, closer to three actually, with no major issues. It’s super, super impressive for our team, and I think everybody should be really proud of that achievement. And now, you know, of course, we’re setting our targets high.”
How high they can get will depend on how acclimated they can get to the new car. Bearman acknowledged that it’s going to be a process, but one that he’s ready to follow through on.
“We want to continue to learn about this car. I think every lap is a learning experience for us at this stage, but it’s good fun as well. It’s my first time being in this situation, you know, with the regulation change, where, as drivers, we can have so much impact on the end result. So it’s a great prospect.”
