Haas still have a chance of climbing Formula 1’s constructors’ championship a little bit more before the end of the season.
With one race to go, they lie just seven points behind Aston Martin, who occupy seventh place in the teams’ standings.
The difference between those positions could be worth anywhere up to £7 million for them, and give them more of a budget to operate with in 2026.
Heading into a new set of regulations, the more money, the better for Haas, who have a chance to make some real strides over their competitors this winter.
They’re yet to achieve a podium across the nine years they have been in Formula 1, but came close on a few occasions this year.
With Oliver Bearman, they have a driver for the future under their wing, and Esteban Ocon brings a great level of experience and speed.
Haas copied Red Bull’s ‘late’ development gamble doesn’t look likely to pay off in 2025
Compared to last year, Haas are currently set to be worse off, despite managing to score 15 points more (and that’s with one race to go).
According to journalist Chris Medland on Speed City Broadcasting, the team took a Red Bull-inspired gamble to keep developing their car in 2025.
“I’d say the other one that stands out aside from Red Bull is actually Haas,” he said. “Haas went with quite a late upgrade, like a big upgrade in Austin.
“I don’t think it was much later development than most other teams. It just takes them a bit longer to bring those parts to the car, but they did that knowing how close it was in the constructors’ fight.
“That they could maybe gain a couple of positions, and that was going to be worth what? $20 million if they could go up two or three?”
Overall, while down in eighth, it doesn’t appear as though that gamble has paid off for them. They’re 19 points behind Racing Bulls in sixth, which is close, but they still missed the mark.
Might it have been wiser to spend more time developing their 2026 car and ignoring whatever happened for the rest of this year? Only time will tell.
Why Haas have a lot to be excited for in 2026
Over the next few months, Haas have a lot to be excited about in the future, starting with team boss Ayao Komatsu.
Ever since he took over as team principal, his engineering-geared brain has been excellent for them, and has helped them really fix any issues their car faced in the past.
With a blank sheet of paper for 2026, it’s exciting to see whether they have the ability to surge through the midfield and into podium contention.
With an exciting young driver like Bearman, they have a real shot at silverware if they can get a bit of luck. It would be an incredible moment for them.
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