HALF TERM REPORT: Haas’ best and worst moments from 2026 so far and driver head-to-heads

‘Inconsistent’ would be the one-word summary of Haas’ 2026 season so far – something that both Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon have generously admitted themselves. Instead of the gradual improvement to the top of the midfield they had dreamed of, they’ve managed to fall backwards to the point where they haven’t scored since Round 6. But with plenty of race weekends to go, can Haas finally unlock some sorely needed performance and challenge for top-10 finishes once again? Let’s take a look at how they’ve fared in their half term report…

Best finish

Bearman – 5th in China

The beginning of the season was full of promise for Haas – after netting a respectable 79 points in 2025’s tight midfield battle, they got off to a great start under the new era of regulations as Bearman crossed the line in seventh place at the opening event in Australia.

That early momentum led to an even better showing by the 21-year-old the following weekend in China, where he scored in the Sprint before progressing to Q3 and subsequently converting P10 into a highly impressive P5.

Energy and optimism had reached an unexpected peak – could this year mark Haas’ long-awaited return to being the best of the rest?

It’s no secret how admired Bearman is, with the Briton often touted as the future of Ferrari, and paired with the experienced Ocon, it looked like the American team could reach unprecedented levels of success in 2026. But as we’ll come onto, that didn’t last for long.

Qualifying head-to-head

Bearman 8-3 Ocon

Bearman has had the measure of his team mate in nearly every respect to date, having built on his rookie season to extract the maximum performance over a single lap.

He squeezed through to the final stage of Qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix but has been unable to repeat the feat since, mingling among the drivers eliminated in Q2 more often than not.

While Bearman likely wouldn’t count it as an achievement due to Haas’ decline behind the likes of Racing Bulls and Alpine, he has still beaten Ocon on eight occasions to three, with the Frenchman suffering five Q1 exits compared to three for the Briton.

Race head-to-head

Bearman 7-4 Ocon

Bearman similarly surpasses Ocon in race trim by seven to four. That’s reflected in the standings too, where he’s secured 18 points – 17 of which came from the first two rounds – while Ocon only has three to his name.

Despite the gulf between the pair, their unity heading into the summer break was something to admire. Bearman defended his team mate’s deficit ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, emphasising that there has been “inconsistency between our parts” at times and “it’s not always a fair fight”.

It’s not unusual for teams to stagger their upgrades or test them out on just one car, but if the difference is that significant over most weekends, it could be one factor behind Ocon’s results.

Best moment

Haas have been on a downward trajectory since the heady days of their consecutive points finishes in Australia, China and Japan, with Bearman’s aforementioned P5 result their best moment by quite some distance.

At the time, he was enthused by his quick reactions, smart overtakes and “really quick” car, proving that when the performance is there to be extracted, he will grab the opportunity with both hands and deliver an eye-catching drive.

Worst moment

Considering how open the drivers have been about their numerous struggles this season, they would probably concede that there are plenty of contenders for their worst moment.

Bearman’s 50G crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, which naturally caused extensive damage to the VF-26, was one moment and the Briton thankfully walked away without injury.

Aside from that, he and Ocon clashed on the opening laps in both Monaco and Spa, contributing to the Briton’s retirement at the former, and they have endured some poor starts at lights out.

Add in deployment issues, the unpredictable impact of their upgrades, and a lack of rear downforce, and it’s no longer a surprise that they haven’t scored in the last five rounds.

Going forward

Haas’ current position of seventh in the teams’ standings slightly flatters their actual status – they’re 40 points adrift of Alpine in P6, while Audi and Williams have a much smaller disadvantage behind them.

One of the squad’s greatest issues has been their development rate. As others have introduced major, effective upgrades, theirs haven’t provided the intended boost, and sometimes leave them scratching their heads over why they behave so differently from one day to the next.

The summer break will therefore be invaluable for Haas to reset and come back with a clearer plan for the direction in which they want to take their car over the remaining rounds, ideally so that Bearman and Ocon feel confident enough to drag themselves back into the points.

While they have lots of catching up to do, they’ve demonstrated under the leadership of Team Principal Ayao Komatsu that they’re no strangers to fighting for better results, and should rely on that knowledge to prevent themselves from slipping even further down the pecking order.