Haas leave Madrid encouraged despite Esteban Ocon’s near-miss for points

Haas see progress despite missing out in Madrid

Esteban Ocon admitted Haas were disappointed to leave the Spanish Grand Prix without points after finishing 11th, but the result also gave the team fresh confidence that its latest upgrades are working.

Ocon qualified 13th, his strongest one-lap performance since Japan, and made an excellent start by overtaking both Audi cars. He moved ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto between Turns 1 and 2 before passing Nico Hulkenberg, but Hulkenberg regained the position during the pit-stop phase under the Virtual Safety Car.

“We are all disappointed, I think we could have got much more, we deserved to be in the points today,” Ocon said after the race. He added that Haas had “given it our all” and said he was proud of the team after its recent struggles with frequent Q1 eliminations and midfield battles against Williams and Aston Martin.

Upgrades restore Haas’s competitiveness

Haas’s previous major package, introduced in Canada, failed to deliver the expected gains. The team subsequently brought updates to Ollie Bearman’s car at Zandvoort, while Ocon received the aerodynamic package in Monza. Track characteristics limited the benefit in Monza, but the improvement was much clearer on Madrid’s circuit.

“Since we got the update obviously, we are seeing when the car is healthy and we don’t have the inconsistency we can perform to a decent level,” Ocon said. The result placed Haas under renewed pressure from Audi in the Constructors’ Championship: Hulkenberg’s 10th-place finish cut Haas’s advantage to four points.

Team proud of race execution

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu described the performance as a “really good” sign, arguing that disappointment with 11th place showed how far the team had progressed. He praised the car’s consistency, the drivers and the trackside and remote operations, while identifying pit-stop equipment as an area requiring improvement after Audi gained position during the stops.

Bearman finished 16th after starting from the pit lane. Following his heavy crash in final practice, he missed qualifying and took new power-unit components, leaving him to fight through traffic. He said the car was strong in clean air and welcomed the chance to put the previous day behind him before the next race in Baku.