[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https://cdn.crash.net/2026-04/xpb_1403808_hires.jpg?width=1600&aspect_ratio=16:9″]
The ‘unexplained’ qualifying problems hindering Haas F1 drivers
Qualifying hasn’t been the strongest aspect for Haas so far in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman have been left wanting more from Haas in Formula 1 qualifying, but the pair are being held back by a specific element.
A big talking point of the 2026 season so far has been energy deployment, with the limited electrical energy available to drivers having a significant impact in both races and qualifying.
On Sundays, the criticism is that it is making overtaking too easy, creating the ‘yoyo racing’ spectacle of cars passing and repassing, with little or no ability to defend, but in qualifying, a slight error carries a penalty greater than was previously the case.
Despite believing that Haas “maximised” qualifying in Japan on his side of the garage for the first time since Abu Dhabi last year, Ocon reflected that the result could have been greater still.
“Unfortunately, yes, we have seen a little bit of performance on that side of things,” said Ocon, when asked if energy management remained the biggest performance factor.
“I think, if we put everything together with deployment on the straights, we could only have been half-a-tenth behind, so there wasn’t much more that we could have done on that side. But that is not up to me to look at that. The team will have a deeper look on what we could have done different.”
The overhauled power units have caused problems for several drivers in qualifying so far this season, notably Charles Leclerc in Australia and China, and Ocon in China, with a snap of oversteer and the resulting lift off the throttle to regain control, resetting the boost system, which ultimately costs significant lap time.
This issue is just one under the umbrella of the energy deployment, with Bearman, who exited qualifying in the first phase in Japan prior to his heavy crash on Sunday, left scratching his head after suffering a similar, but different issue.
“On the first run, I was simply slow with no real explanation, and then the team told me that there was an issue,” he explained. “I don’t know exactly what, but I was losing time on the straights, basically. We managed to reprogram the car. I think that it was ok on the final run, but I haven’t been able to check yet.
“But that first run, I didn’t really learn a whole lot, because I was driving around quite slowly, I would say. In the end, I didn’t really improve that much on the final lap, so we need to understand exactly why.
“So of these things, the car needs laps to understand where to deploy, and obviously, the lap time was a lot quicker than it was in other sessions. So with any of these issues, you just lose cumulatively. It’s not like you can just miss a lap and go back and it’s ok.”
In this article
More News
Colapinto explains “really strange” Bearman crash at Japanese GP
Bearman suffers knee injury in huge 50G crash at Suzuka
Esteban Ocon wants “big consequences” for F1 “keyboard warriors” after death threats
Haas reveals Godzilla livery for Japanese GP in unusual F1 alliance
How the F1 2026 midfield battle is shaping up after two rounds
Ollie Bearman “lucky to be standing here” after Isack Hadjar Chinese GP near-miss
Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter
Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox
For more information see our Privacy Policy
Qualifying hasn’t been the strongest aspect for Haas so far in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman have been left wanting more from Haas in Formula 1 qualifying, but the pair are being held back by a specific element.
A big talking point of the 2026 season so far has been energy deployment, with the limited electrical energy available to drivers having a significant impact in both races and qualifying.
On Sundays, the criticism is that it is making overtaking too easy, creating the ‘yoyo racing’ spectacle of cars passing and repassing, with little or no ability to defend, but in qualifying, a slight error carries a penalty greater than was previously the case.
Despite believing that Haas “maximised” qualifying in Japan on his side of the garage for the first time since Abu Dhabi last year, Ocon reflected that the result could have been greater still.
“Unfortunately, yes, we have seen a little bit of performance on that side of things,” said Ocon, when asked if energy management remained the biggest performance factor.
“I think, if we put everything together with deployment on the straights, we could only have been half-a-tenth behind, so there wasn’t much more that we could have done on that side. But that is not up to me to look at that. The team will have a deeper look on what we could have done different.”
The overhauled power units have caused problems for several drivers in qualifying so far this season, notably Charles Leclerc in Australia and China, and Ocon in China, with a snap of oversteer and the resulting lift off the throttle to regain control, resetting the boost system, which ultimately costs significant lap time.
This issue is just one under the umbrella of the energy deployment, with Bearman, who exited qualifying in the first phase in Japan prior to his heavy crash on Sunday, left scratching his head after suffering a similar, but different issue.
“On the first run, I was simply slow with no real explanation, and then the team told me that there was an issue,” he explained. “I don’t know exactly what, but I was losing time on the straights, basically. We managed to reprogram the car. I think that it was ok on the final run, but I haven’t been able to check yet.
“But that first run, I didn’t really learn a whole lot, because I was driving around quite slowly, I would say. In the end, I didn’t really improve that much on the final lap, so we need to understand exactly why.
“So of these things, the car needs laps to understand where to deploy, and obviously, the lap time was a lot quicker than it was in other sessions. So with any of these issues, you just lose cumulatively. It’s not like you can just miss a lap and go back and it’s ok.”
Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman have been left wanting more from Haas in Formula 1 qualifying, but the pair are being held back by a specific element.
A big talking point of the 2026 season so far has been energy deployment, with the limited electrical energy available to drivers having a significant impact in both races and qualifying.
On Sundays, the criticism is that it is making overtaking too easy, creating the ‘yoyo racing’ spectacle of cars passing and repassing, with little or no ability to defend, but in qualifying, a slight error carries a penalty greater than was previously the case.
Despite believing that Haas “maximised” qualifying in Japan on his side of the garage for the first time since Abu Dhabi last year, Ocon reflected that the result could have been greater still.
“Unfortunately, yes, we have seen a little bit of performance on that side of things,” said Ocon, when asked if energy management remained the biggest performance factor.
“I think, if we put everything together with deployment on the straights, we could only have been half-a-tenth behind, so there wasn’t much more that we could have done on that side. But that is not up to me to look at that. The team will have a deeper look on what we could have done different.”
The overhauled power units have caused problems for several drivers in qualifying so far this season, notably Charles Leclerc in Australia and China, and Ocon in China, with a snap of oversteer and the resulting lift off the throttle to regain control, resetting the boost system, which ultimately costs significant lap time.
This issue is just one under the umbrella of the energy deployment, with Bearman, who exited qualifying in the first phase in Japan prior to his heavy crash on Sunday, left scratching his head after suffering a similar, but different issue.
“On the first run, I was simply slow with no real explanation, and then the team told me that there was an issue,” he explained. “I don’t know exactly what, but I was losing time on the straights, basically. We managed to reprogram the car. I think that it was ok on the final run, but I haven’t been able to check yet.
“But that first run, I didn’t really learn a whole lot, because I was driving around quite slowly, I would say. In the end, I didn’t really improve that much on the final lap, so we need to understand exactly why.
“So of these things, the car needs laps to understand where to deploy, and obviously, the lap time was a lot quicker than it was in other sessions. So with any of these issues, you just lose cumulatively. It’s not like you can just miss a lap and go back and it’s ok.”
[analyse_source url=”http://crash.net/f1/news/1092859/1/unexplained-qualifying-problems-hindering-haas-f1-drivers”]