Haas driver Oliver Bearman says unpredictable car performance has affected both him and team-mate Esteban Ocon throughout the 2026 Formula 1 season, making it difficult to know what to expect from one session or race weekend to the next. Bearman said the team has struggled to understand the cause, although performance appeared to settle after an upgrade introduced at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

“When the car is working, it helps [you] to get something better,” Bearman said. “When the inconsistencies of the cars are here, where you struggle more, you don’t look as good.”

He described the issue as one that had persisted for much of the year, with differences emerging between the two Haas cars and between the same car at different times. “It’s an issue that we’ve been struggling with, to be honest, all throughout the year and not really understanding why,” he said.

“From one weekend to the next, even one day to the next [and] not changing parts, we can have differences in car performance compared to the other car but also compared to your own car,” Bearman said. “So it’s really tough, hard to understand why, which is of course why it’s still happening.”

Bearman said conditions had become more settled at the events following the Monza upgrade. “To be honest, I think the last few events since we bought this latest upgrade in Monza, everything has seemed to calm down a little bit.” He called the inconsistency “a reason for underperformance as a team and across cars.”

The 21-year-old said drivers can often sense early in a weekend whether the car will be competitive, but that first impressions do not always predict how the sessions will unfold. “It’s challenging because you go into the weekend and from the first lap of FP1 you know if it’s going to be a good one or not because you can feel if the car is feeling nice and if it is feeling good then you can perform well,” he said.

Bearman pointed to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku as an example. He finished ninth behind Ocon at the race, after an initially difficult first practice session, known as FP1. “I had a situation in Baku in FP1, everything felt really poor and I was strapping in for a long weekend, but actually we changed a few parts and everything was performing well and I had a good weekend after that,” he said.

He said the shifting performance had tested both drivers and made it harder for the team to prepare. “So it’s something that has challenged both of us to an extent and something that as a team we need to improve on because it makes our life challenging because we’re not really sure what we’re working with heading into a weekend,” Bearman said. “Even heading into FP3, for example, after a decent Friday, sometimes that can fall apart, so it’s challenging.” FP3 is the third practice session, held before qualifying.

Bearman is in his second season with Haas and first full season in Formula 1 was last year, when he scored 41 points to Ocon’s 38. Haas has confirmed Ocon will not drive for the team in 2027, but has not announced who will replace him. Ocon has said his F1 career is not over.

Bearman said Ocon had helped him learn how to work with a team at the top level. “He has been a great team mate and it’s a shame to see him going,” Bearman said. “I’ve learnt a lot from him over the year-and-a-half we’ve been together.” He also praised Ocon’s speed and said he had observed how the French driver worked with the team.

“Coming in as an F2 driver, where you’re almost a client of the team and you get told what to do, you step up to F1 and now the team looks to you for inspiration, for motivation, for a direction in terms of development and things like that, which is the first time I’ve been in that situation,” Bearman said. “So in that sense I learnt a lot from Esteban, that’s been really useful for me.”

He added: “There’s no doubt about his speed, he’s shown that on many occasions. So it’s a shame to see but I’m looking forward to coming into a new role within the team as the leader, being the most experienced driver within the team potentially, so in that sense I think it’s a good opportunity for me to continue to learn.”

Bearman made his F1 debut in 2024 as a substitute for Carlos Sainz Jnr at Ferrari. He said he felt prepared to take on more responsibility after improving his performance and understanding of how to help develop the car and work with team members away from the track.

“I think that I’ve come a long way in those two years,” Bearman said. “My first few races were very, very unique circumstances. But even if I compare to the level that I was performing at last year, I’ve definitely come a long way, especially with how I interact with the team off-track and what I understand about how to get the most out of the guys and developing the car as well. So in that sense, I’m looking forward to this new role.”

The report was published by RaceFans on Oct. 1, 2026, at 10:39 and was written by Keith Collantine. The site, which was established in 2005 under the name F1 Fanatic, describes Collantine as a lifelong motor sport fan who previously worked as a motoring journalist and began running the site full-time in 2010. RaceFans also displayed links to related coverage, including Max Verstappen’s desire to avoid his first win-less season since his F1 debut, a call from a Ukrainian club for the FIA General Assembly to discuss alleged Russian violations, talking points about a new track for half the field under the “Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia” label, Ocon’s insistence his F1 career is not over, and Fernando Alonso’s new contract to race for Aston Martin in 2027.

Based on reporting by RaceFans.