‘Solid foundation to build on’ - Banbury outfit Haas emerge as dark horses ahead of 2026 Formula 1 campaign
Banbury outfit Haas can be considered dark horses ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 season after enjoying a highly productive pre-season testing programme in Bahrain, following on from a promising shakedown in Barcelona.
Led by Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, who primarily operates out of the team’s European base in Banbury, Haas racked up the third-most laps and kilometres of any team on the grid, while also posting competitive lap times.
Haas logged a total of 749 laps (4,297km) across the two Bahrain tests, with a standout 170 laps on the final day. The team avoided any major issues and were able to log consistent mileage throughout.
Although Haas are not expected to be on many - if any - podiums during the upcoming season, standing third for distance is a strong indicator of efficient performance and sturdy reliability.
Initial signs suggest four teams — Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull — will form the leading pack. That leaves Haas targeting a tightly congested and highly competitive midfield battle.
Haas’ best lap of 1:33.487 ranked sixth overall by team — less than a tenth of a second behind Enstone-based Alpine’s 1:33.421.
Out of the 22 drivers, Haas’ British prospect Oliver Bearman was ninth fastest overall, while French teammate Esteban Ocon ranked 14th. Bearman and Ocon were 1.495s and 2.209s respectively behind pace-setter Charles Leclerc (1:31.992).
"We had three good rounds of testing, whether at the Barcelona Shakedown or the two sessions in Bahrain,” Haas chief Komatsu explained to the official Formula 1 website.
“All the lessons learned in Barcelona carried over to Bahrain, and then the same between the two sessions in Sakhir.
“Over these last three days, I feel we had a good programme, that we understood the car more and more each day. I am reasonably satisfied with our progress.”
On who Haas might be directly competing with this season, Komatsu added: “It’s very difficult to know where everyone stands.
“Even with stable regulations, we’ve seen that small fluctuations in the fuel carried can already change the standings.
“This year, on top of that, we have new engines and differences in energy deployment. It’s very difficult to be precise, but I think we’ll at least be in the fight in the midfield with teams like Alpine, Racing Bulls and Audi.
“It's really encouraging because we couldn't give up last year; we had to fight until the very end and manage two projects simultaneously.
“I was prepared for a much more difficult pre-season, but thanks to all the hard work of the team, we have good reliability and a solid foundation to build on.”