Haas has confirmed it has brought an upgrade this weekend’s Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, in an attempt to make the VF-25 challenger “more robust.”
The American squad has enjoyed a bright start to the season, scoring just over a third of its 2024 Constructors’ points total already, with new driver pairing of Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon behind the wheel.
It has not been all plain sailing, however, given the horrific start to the campaign it endured in Melbourne, where teething problems saw them trailing at the back of the field.
Race pace has been significantly improved since then, with both Bearman and Ocon being able to regularly compete within the top 10, and in Miami, the Frenchman out-qualified Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, and was less than a tenth behind Charles Leclerc.
However, the VF-25’s crucial problem has been an inconsistency in its downforce in fast corners, which will no doubt provide a level of unpredictability for Bearman and Ocon to content with.
Speaking to media including Motorsport Week ahead of this weekend’s race, Bearman confirmed the change, and said he awaits how it will affect its performance.
“We have a slightly modified car coming into this weekend,” he said. “It’s been in the pipeline for a while. Let’s see how it performs on the track. I’m looking forward to seeing how this car feels.”
Komatsu unsure new upgrade will bring quick fix at Imola
Whilst Imola is a circuit largely consisting of slower corners, Team Principal Ayao Komatsu played down that the upgrade may provide any big solution this weekend.
“The process has been more conventional. We’ve done the proper development,” he told media including Motorsport Week about the production of the upgrade. “But in terms of the direction, it’s basically the same direction as what we took to Suzuka.
“So it’s not really focused on the headline numbers. We looked at more characteristics, what we need. But we’ll see, you know, until we put it on the track, you never know.
“And then Imola is a pretty specific circuit. Bumpy, not many high-speed corners. So I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes here. But I don’t know if you’re going to see the full picture here.
“I mean, to anybody’s upgrade, you know, this circuit is specific, right? And then next one is Monaco. So I think we need to do this triple header.
“At the end of Barcelona, I think everybody would know what we’ve done, what they’ve done, worked or not.”
READ MORE – Esteban Ocon ‘can understand’ Lewis Hamilton’s current F1 struggles at Ferrari
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