Haas started new F1 car development as early as 2024

Haas’ newly unveiled Formula 1 car for the 2026 season has been developed since mid-2024, technical director Andrea De Zordo has revealed.

F1 teams were banned from running any wind tunnel or CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) tests relative to 2026 machinery before 1 January 2025, as the world championship moves to new technical regulations on both chassis and engine sides.

However, nothing prevented the squads from thinking about the regulations or even sketching designs, and Haas attempted to get a head start on the new era.

“It actually started in the second half of 2024 with a small group looking at the concept of the new car, and it remained with that group until the launch of the VF-25,” De Zordo said as the VF-26 was unveiled. “The split between resources from there continued to increase towards the 2026 program, fully switching over after the summer break last season.

“We had a small group still working on the VF-25 until pretty late on due to the tight championship fight, and that was a challenge to manage. It was about deciding the main points of focus for both 2025 and 2026, without losing too much time on what we knew would be a big season.”

De Zordo clarified that the VF-26 would be updated by the opening round of the campaign, which admittedly is nothing out of the ordinary.

Haas VF-26

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

“The car everyone will see in Barcelona won’t be the car that races in Australia,” team principal Ayao Komatsu confirmed ahead of the first pre-season test from 26-30 January at the Catalan track. “I think that will be across the board, because it's simply too early.

“It’s different perhaps having one test two weeks before the first race, but with over a month before the first race, teams won’t stop wind tunnel development. Hence, the cars testing in Barcelona, and even the first week of testing in Bahrain will be less mature compared to what’s built in Australia for the first race.”

How 2026 is an even bigger challenge for Haas

As one of the smallest outfits on the grid in terms of headcount and overall resources, and given the scope of the regulatory overhaul, Haas has experienced the toughest pre-season in its 10-year history, Komatsu argued.

“I would say so, especially for our size,” the Japanese said. “The new regulations mean it's financially challenging and regarding resources, everyone knows we’re still the smallest team. It’s a huge challenge, and as team principal, the responsibility is bigger, ensuring that this team is equipped to tackle this massive regulation change.

“I don't think any team, even the biggest, is going to say they’re fully equipped to tackle this, however for us, the challenge is bigger.

“We need to focus on what we’ve got, what we’re good at, recognise our weaknesses but play to our strengths, and continue learning. We’ve got to learn pretty fast with these new regulations. There will be surprises once everyone is up and running, for sure, and it’s going to be about sticking together, reacting, and adapting as quickly as possible.”

Haas VF-26

Photo by: Haas F1 Team

A major performance differentiator might be energy management, Komatsu added, as 2026 F1 machinery features a near-50:50 split in combustion and electric power. Considering the new Overtake Mode (extra power to overtake, in other words the new DRS) and Boost Mode (maximum power, to be used anywhere), managing the electrical aspect will be crucial in order not to run out of energy too early on the straights.

“Before we go racing, and even testing, we need to get on top of energy management, that’s the huge one,” Komatsu pointed out. “I don’t know if we all understand the full extent of the challenge because we don't know what we don't know.”