Haas End of Year Report: Navigating flaws, forging future foundations

Written by Kavi Khandelwal, Edited by Meghana Sree

With another year of Formula One action in the books, our writers review each F1 team’s 2025 campaign and assess their performance across the season. Haas battled a flawed car but grew stronger throughout the year, supported by sharp drivers, steady leadership and late-season grit laying the groundwork for a bolder 2026. Here’s their end of year report.

Credit: Formula One

The 2025 Formula One season served a critical year for the Haas F1 team, as they served their first full campaign under the leadership of Team Principal Ayao Komatsu.

This managerial restructuring took place at the end of 2023, where Komatsu implemented a mandate focused on engineering clarity and methodical development. His aim was to establish a robust operational foundation, which was immediately tested by unforeseen systemic issues with the new VF-25 chassis.

The team concluded the season securing eighth place in the Constructors' Championship, accumulating 79 points. This P8 finish placed the team behind Aston Martin with 89 points, and ahead of Sauber with 70 points and Alpine with 22 points.

In 2024, the team finished P7 in the Constructors' Championship. However, this positional regression to eighth is misleading if the team’s internal performance isn’t analysed. 

The points were captured despite the early identification of a severe, fundamental aerodynamic flaw in the VF-25, which hampered performance across numerous circuits. 

The season was characterised by significant volatility throughout the 24-race calendar: a strong start, including a 14-point haul at the Chinese Grand Prix, was followed by a mid-season dip, then a powerful resurgence in the closing stages, amassing 33 points in the final quarter, including a massive 14-point score in Mexico. 

This ability to triage a systemic technical crisis and score consistently is a testament to the operational improvements under Komatsu's direction.

Drivers’ Head-to-Head Performance

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The 2025 season saw a new pairing for the team. Experienced Frenchman Esteban Ocon and British rookie Oliver Bearman proved to be one of the most compelling and tightly contested teammates on the grid. 

The two drivers provided the team with highly accurate performance benchmarking for the troublesome VF-25 chassis. Their statistical analysis of the season reveals the rookie to slightly edge out the veteran in pure speed and ultimate points accumulation. 

Throughout his debut season, Bearman demonstrated superior single-lap pace. He leads the qualifying head-to-head 13-11 against Ocon. 

However, in terms of Grand Prix finishes, Ocon’s experience provided an advantage as they concluded the year with a 12-11 in his favour in the race head-to-head. 

Despite that, Bearman finished the season ahead of his teammate with 32 points compared to the French driver’s 30. This is particularly impressive, considering that Bearman suffered two mechanical retirements compared to Ocon’s single non-finish.

Bearman also recorded the team’s best single result of the season, a fourth-place finish in Mexico. 

This close internal battle proved strategically invaluable, confirming that Haas possesses two drivers capable of extracting the absolute limit from a difficult car.

Best Moments

The VF-25 experienced many underlying technical deficiencies throughout the season. Despite these difficulties, the team demonstrated their ability to maximise any opportunities handed to them.

The drivers often scored high points in important races, underscoring the discipline instilled under the new management.

One of the most significant highlights arrived at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix. A commanding haul of 14 points at the second race of the season again demonstrated that the car had real pace when circuit characteristics minimised its high-speed cornering weaknesses.

Ocon was particularly strong, earning fifth place and very important validation for the team.

Credit: Formula One

The culmination of it all was the phenomenal fourth place that Bearman achieved in the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix.

This result is the rookie’s career-best, and stands as a testament to his car control and adaptability in the high-altitude conditions. These conditions seemed to suit the VF-25 better than high-speed tracks. 

Ocon's drive to seventh place in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix concluded the season, adding six points onto the team's total, after the French driver spent much of the latter stages successfully holding off seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Worst Moments

The technical problems, as mentioned above, hampered the VF-25’s performance severely. The team’s worst moments were tied to the lack of management of this flaw.

The lowest point of the season occurred during the season opener, the 2025 Australian Grand Prix. The team yielded zero points that weekend.

Komatsu admitted that the car’s lack of pace and balance at Albert Park was shocking. He initially suspected something was physically broken, only to realise the team faced a "serious fundamental problem" upon finding nothing mechanically damaged.   

The diagnosis identified the critical design flaw as an "aerodynamic oscillation in high-speed corners". This oscillation prevented the car from delivering consistent levels of downforce through quick sections.

When combined with challenging rear downforce characteristics, the VF-25 became "extremely difficult to drive". The problem was not amenable to quick trackside adjustments, requiring an "iterative process" involving Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel work. 

Credit: Formula One

This core deficiency directly explains the team's weak second quarter, as tracks demanding high-speed stability heavily punished the VF-25.

In terms of the drivers, Ocon faced a disqualification at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying. His rookie teammate ended the season with 10 penalty points out of 12, with most being due to red flag infringements.

Looking Ahead

Stability remains to be the defining strategic choice for Haas in the next season. The team confirmed that Ocon and Bearman would remain in their seats for the beginning of the next regulatory cycle.

This continuity provides a massive advantage, ensuring the engineering team retains known high-calibre drivers who can provide specific feedback as the team transitions to the radical 2026 regulations.

Credit: Formula One

The shift to the 2026 technical regulations represents an unprecedented conceptual revolution in F1 design. This revolution features movable active aerodynamics and a power unit formula where electrical hybrid power accounts for up to 50% of the total output.

The implications of this are huge, especially for a customer team like Haas. It is further compounded by their reliance on the reliability and competitiveness of the Ferrari Power Unit.

The engineering-first approach of 2025 provides the best mechanism for tackling this massive strategic undertaking.