Haas VF-26: American-owned F1 team become first sq...

Haas have turn out to be the primary workforce to disclose photographs of their 2026 automobile as they launched the VF-26 for F1’s new guidelines period.

After the livery launches of Purple Bull and Racing Bulls final week, whose 2026 appears had been revealed on present automobiles, Haas kicked off every week during which a number of groups are set to offer a primary glimpse at their precise challengers by revealing photographs on-line.

Britain’s Oliver Bearman, 20, and skilled Frenchman Esteban Ocon kind the workforce’s driver line-up for the second successive season, with the game making ready for the introduction of an enormous regulation change that options new energy models and chassis.

The primary photographs of the VF-26 present perception into how F1’s smaller and lighter 2026 automobiles will look, with vastly totally different entrance and rear wings to the earlier era contributing to much less downforce and drag.

The workforce’s new 2026 livery was additionally shared, with the black carbon areas of final 12 months’s automobile changed by extra massive white areas and extra pink accents. The scheme additionally nods to the workforce’s new title sponsor for this 12 months, Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Komatsu: It has been a monumental effort

Haas completed eighth in final 12 months’s Constructors’ Championship however come into 2026 with some momentum having amassed the second-highest factors complete of their 10-season historical past.

Haas workforce principal Ayao Komatsu stated: “It feels virtually a bit surreal to be unveiling a brand new automobile this early within the 12 months but it surely’s not any much less thrilling venturing into a brand new F1 marketing campaign – particularly one with such a change in laws.”

There are three separate testing occasions for groups to fine-tune their automobiles earlier than the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 8, with the primary going down in Barcelona from January 26-30 earlier than the opposite two comply with in Bahrain in February.

“We’re totally centered on being prepared for Shakedown Week in Barcelona,” Komatsu added. “It has been a monumental effort from everybody on the workforce to work with such a good turnaround time from the top of final season to placing automobiles on monitor in January.

“It goes with out saying that after a lot discuss, we will not wait to see how these automobiles will carry out and what we’ll face as we then progress by our check packages forward of Australia.

“Observe time goes to be essential by Spain and Bahrain and whereas we all know there’s going to be challenges alongside the way in which, we do that as a result of we’re keen about System 1.”

‘I upped my recreation’ – Bearman excited to push on

Britain’s Bearman produced a formidable rookie marketing campaign, placing collectively a very spectacular second half of the 12 months that included a streak of 5 successive factors finishes and a career-best fourth place in Mexico.

That run of kind, which noticed him comfortably outperform an skilled and stable operator in Ocon, has heightened hypothesis round Bearman’s potential as a future Ferrari driver, with the Italian workforce having loaned him out to Haas after signing him to their academy.

Bearman stated: “It was a 12 months the place I actually realized quite a bit, not solely about myself as an individual, or as an athlete, but in addition about System 1.

“I’ve actually elevated my information base infinitely, as a result of I have been put in experiences that you simply simply cannot study previous to experiencing them. I’ve positively improved quite a bit in all of these areas and I am actually proud of how the season went, notably the second half.

“I actually upped my recreation, I felt like within the second half of the season, I began to place down some actually some outcomes that I used to be actually proud of, and that was crucial for me. I am excited to proceed that this 12 months.”

The Essex-born driver believes the expertise he gained by racing in F1 at many tracks for the primary time throughout his rookie marketing campaign will allow him to be much more aggressive in 2026.

“I am most excited to return to all of those circuits, having skilled a race weekend already,” he added. “I now perceive how a monitor evolves by the weekend, how the tyres carry out, and what modifications might have tripped me up final 12 months. Most of the time, final 12 months, I used to be going to new circuits the place my competitors had been loads of occasions.

“After all, I am now going to circuits that I’ve solely pushed without delay, and the place my competitors has pushed 10 or 11 occasions, however I really feel like even simply having one race weekend’s price of expertise at a circuit, and the information base that I’ve constructed up from a full season of F1 goes to place me in a significantly better place.”

When is F1 pre-season testing?

The introduction of recent laws means there’s a strong schedule of three separate testing occasions earlier than the beginning of the 2026 season.

The primary is a behind-closed-doors occasion in Barcelona from January 26-30, earlier than two checks comply with in Bahrain from February 11-13 and 18-20.

When is the primary F1 race?

The groups then have two weeks to arrange for the opening spherical of the season, which is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 6-8.

The primary follow classes of the season will happen on Friday 6 March, with Qualifying on Saturday 7 March and the opening race on Sunday 8 March.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2026 System 1 season dwell on Sky Sports activities F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime