Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu admitted he thought something was broken when his Formula 1 outfit logged its initial FP1 laps at the Australian Grand Prix, and doesn’t expect an immediate fix to its high-speed corner problems.
After following a similar run plan in Bahrain testing to what it had run in 2024, by sacrificing all performance runs for long-run pace and tyre management exploration, Haas did not have many indications of its true pace versus the rest of the field.
But the team arrived in Australia propping up the order, which Komatsu revealed had surprised the American squad. A pace deficit in high-speed corners, particularly Turns 9 and 10, was viewed as the main culprit.
Komatsu explained that losing a smidgen of performance in the low-speed corners to apply it to the higher-speed turns on the circuit was the only way to bring the car into a “respectable” performance window.
“I don’t think it’s a one-off,” Komatsu said. “It was a big surprise, we weren’t expecting that whatsoever based on Bahrain testing.
“Bahrain testing wasn’t perfect, but we weren’t expecting it anywhere near as bad as Melbourne. In FP1, on a very fast lap when the car went out. I thought either something was broken or something is completely out of the ballpark.
“Then when we established, right, nothing’s broken, we’ve got a big issue. It was pretty clear the problem was in high speed, Turn 9, Turn 10. Then we just worked and worked to make those corners better with the expense of low speed.
Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
“But even then, low-speed corners are okay, not great – but compared to the issue we had in Turns 9 and 10, it’s night and day. So then by Q1, we managed to get Turn 9 more or less respectable. But Turn 10, still nowhere.
“We understand why, but with the issues we have, we cannot solve it for all corners, right? So I think at least we took correct steps during the weekend.”
Komatsu said that the team planned to develop its way through the problem and “tackle it head-on” rather than give up on it and focus on 2026, as the team feels it has an understanding of where the problem lies.
He reckoned that the outfit would not be able to implement a solution for a number of races, given the severity of the problem. Komatsu believes it is related to the car’s interface with the ground at low ride heights.
“I think that’s the best we could do with the Melbourne circuit characteristics, that our car’s weakness that we discovered in Melbourne and then characteristics of Turn 10 as a corner. At least then we have clear understanding of what the issue is.
“Then next point is to understand which part of the car we need to modify, or which part of the car has the sensitivity to solve this performance issue. So up to this point, we are reasonably clear.
“Then of course, next is, how are we going to find a solution? Some of them can be reasonably short-term solutions, but some of them will be an iterative process, both in CFD and wind tunnel.
“So you’re not going to see a solution for some races – it’s pretty severe.”
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McLaren confirmed its status as the clear favourite with what should have been a 1-2 in Melbourne. The changing conditions on Sunday made it difficult to get a good read on the real gap, but the almost four-tenths of a second advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in qualifying tells at least something. One could argue that Albert Park hasn’t historically been Red Bull’s best track (just two wins in eight title years) and that Ferrari is yet to exploit the full potential of the SF-25, as Charles Leclerc pointed out.
Nevertheless, the Shanghai International Circuit should be good for McLaren.
Championship leader Lando Norris said: “I am confident that when we go to China next weekend we can be very strong because we were strong there last year with not a very good car.”
The McLaren driver finished second in China last season, 13 seconds behind Verstappen, and that was before the major upgrade in Miami. Last year’s result underlines that the circuit, with its long-radius corners and a lot of stress on the front tyres, could suit both McLaren and Red Bull, making it an interesting test. However, the sprint format with only one practice session could still make it difficult to get a clear picture.
– Ronald Vording
Is Ferrari out of contention for race wins?
Not yet! Despite the poor result in Melbourne, there is nothing to suggest that at the moment. Certainly, the outcome of the first weekend in Australia falls short of Ferrari’s own initial expectations, but on Friday the SF-25 showed signs of promise. It was well balanced, strong in the slow corners and allowed Leclerc to push on corner entries. Ferrari wasn’t quick enough to fight for victory, but a podium finish was possible.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The real surprise was the step backwards between Friday and Saturday, when Ferrari couldn’t maintain its form. The car suddenly began to overheat and couldn’t cope with the increased grip. The gap that has emerged, both in qualifying and in the race, is worrying.
If the team’s ambition is to fight at the front of the field, the Scuderia will need to understand quickly what didn’t work in Australia and whether the problems were specific to Melbourne or to the package itself.
– Gianluca d’Alessandro
Will Williams and Racing Bulls maintain their pace?
Williams was one of the surprises of the Bahrain test, earning praise from McLaren boss Andrea Stella, who even suggested that the leading pack was no longer a closed club for McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. Alex Albon’s strong weekend in Melbourne could be seen as confirmation that the Italian is not too far off with his assessment. The Williams driver outqualified both Ferraris and finished a strong fifth, confirming the progress his team has made over the winter.
Racing Bulls left Australia empty-handed, but that shouldn’t distract from the fact that Yuki Tsunoda was also on course for a big result on Sunday – and only the team’s decision not to pit the Japanese driver when the rain intensified cost him some good points, as he was ahead of Albon.
Whether they can still challenge the big teams remains a question mark for the time being – but we may get some answers in Shanghai.
– Oleg Karpov
Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Can Lawson bounce back?
Along with some of his fellow rookies, Melbourne provided Liam Lawson with a tough start to the F1 season. The Red Bull driver admitted he was “too slow” on Friday and suffered a PU problem on Saturday before getting knocked out of Q1. Sunday’s race didn’t go much better, as he was stuck outside the points and crashed as the rain started to fall. Team boss Christian Horner didn’t want to judge his rookie too harshly, saying that Red Bull “took the risk” by running Lawson on slicks.
But it does raise the question of whether this is further proof of how difficult it is to share a garage with Max Verstappen and how tricky the Red Bull car could be for any other driver. Lawson dismissed that thought, saying he was “stupid” in qualifying and that the weekend as a whole “just sucked”. China offers an opportunity for quick revenge, but there are two things to bear in mind: it’s another track that Lawson hasn’t raced on, and the lack of practice time could be a complicating factor. Maybe we just need to be a little more patient…
– Ronald Vording
Was Haas’ dreadful performance in Melbourne a one-off?
If there’s one team that had every reason to be seriously concerned about its form after Melbourne, it’s Haas. The car was slow all weekend, with one-lap pace the biggest headache at the moment. Yes, Oliver Bearman didn’t make things any easier for his team with two unnecessary incidents in the build-up to the main sessions – but Esteban Ocon also failed to squeeze any potential out of his VF-25.
So if you want to bet on which team will finish last in this year’s constructors’ championship, your best guess is definitely Haas. Can it improve in China?
– Oleg Karpov
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The Australian Grand Prix was an eventful season opener for Formula 1, and the wet/dry/wet conditions put drivers’ and engineers’ skills to the test. Let’s begin with a clear winner from Round 1:
The McLaren team celebrates
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Way to pick up where you left off. Everyone expected McLaren to start 2025 at the front, and the reigning world champion squad duly delivered with a one-two in qualifying, which really should have been a one-two in the race but for Oscar Piastri’s off in Turn 12.
Lando Norris escaped an excursion in the same corner to deliver a composed victory drive, withstanding late pressure from Max Verstappen. But more ominous is McLaren’s pace advantage in the dry and the way it was able to both warm up the tyres better than Red Bull but also make them last longer, which is a rare but coveted combination.
Piastri’s spin, which demoted him to ninth in the end, kept the dreaded Australian podium curse intact, but it didn’t dampen enthusiasm for what should be McLaren’s year. Its title defence is well and truly up and running.
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Ferrari looked like it was going to be McLaren’s closest challenger this weekend, all the way until Q2 in qualifying. But it lost pace over one lap, struggling with overheating, and from their midfield starting positions Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton didn’t really look like they were going places during the race either.
Their fortunes could have changed had the Scuderia responded better to the change in climatic conditions. Mercedes and Williams timed their late stop to intermediates beautifully, but Ferrari left both cars out too long in a gamble that, with the benefit of hindsight, was not only the wrong call but also quite risky to commit to with both cars rather than hedging one’s bets with a split strategy.
Ferrari does have a strong car in there, but it will have to execute both its qualifying and races runs better in China’s demanding sprint weekend to exploit it. Hamilton didn’t have the greatest Ferrari debut but will need a bit time to gel with both the car and the team.
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Alex Albon, Williams
Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images
Much was made of Alexander Albon facing a stiff challenge by being joined by Carlos Sainz this year. That might yet be the case once the Spaniard is fully up to speed at his new employer, but Albon has had a very bright start to the year in Melbourne, showing great pace in qualifying to claim sixth on the grid.
The English-born Thai driver didn’t put a foot wrong in a challenging race either, and utilised Williams’ correct strategy calls to stay up front and almost contend for a podium. It is encouraging for Williams to have a car that seemed well-rounded enough to be competitive in tough wet conditions, and having 10 points in the bank early on will provide a big morale boost.
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Isack Hadjar, RB F1 Team crash
Photo by: Kym Illman – Getty Images
Melbourne’s wet-weather chaos was a rare opportunity for plenty of teams to bank a lot of points, see Williams and Sauber above, and Racing Bulls will have to be frustrated that it couldn’t capitalise on the great pace the car had shown all weekend.
It appears as though Yuki Tsunoda has made another step forward this year as RB’s de facto team leader, putting in superb drives in qualifying and the race. But his points bid came undone with a pitstop for inters that came too late, much like the Ferraris’.
Isack Hadjar’s F1 debut was as short-lived as it was heartbreaking, the youngster inconsolable after crashing out at Turn 1 of the formation lap. It was a brutal introduction to F1, but the Frenchman had been putting together an impressive weekend until that point, so he will just have to dust himself off and go again in Shanghai.
There are no guarantees that Racing Bulls will be as competitive on other circuits as it was on the rather unique Albert Park layout, so this is quite simply a huge missed opportunity. No two ways about it.
Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
At first, we were just going to include Nico Hulkenberg here, but the entire team deserves a mention for the opening race it has had following a dismal 2024. Having chased points all season to finally score four in the penultimate race in Qatar, it has now already scored six right off the bat.
The experienced Hulkenberg’s composed drive in the wet played a big part, as did the squad’s impeccable strategy where others faltered. It is certainly a big lift for the plagued Hinwil squad, that looked unlikely after a mediocre qualifying session.
Although Gabriel Bortoleto crashed out, he was also rather impressive with his speed and attitude all weekend. The Brazilian rookie was assertive after being presented with Helmut Marko’s ‘B-driver’ comments. And rather than feeling nervous about a wet-weather debut, Bortoleto seemed to embrace the opportunity to finish out of Sauber’s usual position and accelerate his learning.
Bortoleto, who was nursing a race-long brake issue, eventually crashed out like several of his peers, but he will find more chances to impress this season if the car allows it.
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
It was a Red Bull debut to forget for Liam Lawson. In the dry his qualifying runs were messy as he appeared to overdrive a bit to compensate his lack of FP3 running with an engine issue, with his one completed lap only 18th fastest.
Starting from the pitlane was a difficult task, but as Antonelli proved, all was not lost in such a chaotic wet-dry-wet race. What was a little bit alarming was the initial pace on the inters, as Lawson was stuck in no man’s land between the Saubers and the Haas cars.
Lawson’s actual crash in the race can be swept under the rug as he was left out on slicks too long, but the damage had long been done by then. The Melbourne weekend was a bit of a disaster all-round, and while it sounds silly to say after race one of a 24-round season, he can’t afford too many repeats before the ghosts of the past starting circling around Red Bull’s difficult second seat.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
People understandably wondered if young Andrea Kimi Antonelli would be ready for his grand F1 debut, but you don’t end up in a Mercedes F1 car by accident and the Italian phenom has already started showing why he was fast-tracked to replace Lewis Hamilton.
A small error in qualifying left him 16th on the grid for what was going to be his second-ever drive in a Formula 1 car in the wet. It had all sorts of potential to go wrong, and indeed he was fortunate to spin off where he did without clattering the barriers.
But his spin didn’t faze him and instead he locked in to complete a remarkable rise from 16th to fourth, aided by impeccable strategy by Mercedes for both himself and team-mate George Russell, who drove a composed race to third and equally deserved to be in this category. Antonelli ended up being reinstated to fourth after an incorrect unsafe release penalty, which meant Mercedes scored a huge result for the pace it actually had.
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The result has not only provided an early vindication for Mercedes’ choice to back Antonelli, but may also take off some of the pressure for the Italian himself. He is where he belongs.
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
Haas has been on the back foot all weekend with Oliver Bearman’s crash in FP1 costing him valuable track time, while Esteban Ocon also lost a bit of running for minor issues. Another off for Bearman in qualifying further limited his mileage, and in the end Ocon and Bearman couldn’t manage better than a distant 13th and 14th.
But while a tidier weekend could have made things much easier for Haas, the bigger issue is that the pace just doesn’t seem to be there at the moment, as Haas is the slowest team at the moment. Will there be more performance to unlock, both with the base car and early-season upgrades? You’d hope so, because if there isn’t, 2025 might be a bit of a dud for Ocon and Bearman.
Photos from Australian GP – Race
In this article
Filip Cleeren
Formula 1
Alex Albon
Liam Lawson
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Ferrari
Sauber
McLaren
Racing Bulls
Haas F1 Team
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Oliver Bearman has suffered another blow to what has already been a dreadful weekend for the Haas F1 driver. The rookie will start the Australian Grand Prix from the pit lane after the team changed suspension set-up on his car.
Bearman crashed out in the first day of practice, requiring a power unit replacement before lights out on the first race of the season. He then beached his car in the gravel during Saturday’s final practice session and suffered a mechanical issue in qualifying without recording a lap time.
He was quick to own up to his mistakes, telling reporters that his errors were clumsy. “It’s a petty unforgiving circuit and two seemingly small errors giving big consequences and missing out on all of my running. It was clumsiness from my side to make these errors, honestly, and that’s not good enough,” he said. “And then of course the gearbox issue and the qualifying pretty much sums up what we’ve had so far.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
The 19-year-old Brit said the team was also lacking performance, with his teammate Esteban Ocon starting just one place ahead of him on Sunday. “There’s a long season ahead of us, I’m not gonna get down about two days in a very long season. I think as a team we’re struggling a bit more than we anticipated and more than we looked in Bahrain, so you know we’ve got a bit of work to do on that side of things on pure car performance and, of course, I haven’t helped out very much because the team’s pretty much running with one car,” he said.
“Obviously I haven’t done enough laps to really feel what the car is handling like I can only tell you from Esteban’s comments, but just on pure lap time we’re not that strong.”
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Emily Selleck
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Oliver Bearman apologised to his Haas mechanics after a crash during first practice for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix saw the British rookie forced to sit out the second hour on Friday.
With a little over 20 minutes remaining of FP1, Bearman took too much kerb and ran wide at Turns 9 and 10, running onto the gravel and ultimately slamming into the wall, bringing out a red flag.
While the 19-year-old was cleared by medical staff, his Haas needed plenty of attention and, despite the team’s best efforts, he was unable to get out of the garage for second practice.
“The feeling was good. I think just wanting a bit too much, too soon – which is kind of my approach, which isn’t really the right one for F1,” Bearman explained.
“In F2 you go straight to quali after the first practice session and in F1 you have two more, so there’s no need to be straight on the limit. Maybe I overdid it slightly, but it’s totally on me.
“Just a bit too much steering lock over the compression at the apex of 10, which sent me wide, and it’s quite bumpy out there. I just lost it.
“Once you’re in the gravel it’s so bumpy and there is asphalt, grass, bumps and I was already out of it, but once you’re there, honestly, there is no more control, unfortunately.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Both sides of the Haas garage worked on trying to repair Bearman’s VF-25 in the hope of sending him out towards the latter stages of the afternoon practice session. However, their attempts were vain as Bearman was unable to take to the track at Albert Park.
Asked if he felt well physically, Bearman replied: “Yes, fine, it was a small hit, just not great for the car. So, yeah, my apologies to the team.
“It would have been nice just to do an install and check everything, make sure everything was OK for tomorrow.
“The guys did an amazing job, both sides of the garage helping me out to try and get me back on track. I can only apologise to them, and I owe them a few beers on Sunday.
“They’ve had a busy few weeks starting out with everything, building up the second car now, and to have the damage so early on and to put them back to work and give them a long evening is not really good enough. So, yeah, I can only apologise to them.”
While Bearman was confined to the back of the garage, fellow Haas newcomer Esteban Ocon was the slowest of the 19 runners able to post a time in FP2.
Having completed 31 laps, the Frenchman’s best effort still left him over a second and a half off the pace set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Asked by Autosport if there was more in the car, Ocon said: “It’s still very early days. Of course, it wasn’t the smoothest day for us.
“We’ve had quite a few difficulties in some areas, and we need to smooth that all together. There’s a lot for us to test. We completely changed the car from P1 to P2.
“There are still some readings that we’re not happy with in P2. We’ve lost a little bit of time in some sessions, and we also didn’t get the full running with the two cars to be able to compare with both set-ups in general.
“It hasn’t been the smoothest day, but it’s the first Friday of the year, so that’s pretty normal.”
Team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted to Haas having had “a pretty difficult day” in Melbourne, with the outfit needing further analysis to get to the bottom of its worries.
“It wasn’t the performance we were expecting,” Komatsu said. “We have one indication as to why in FP1, but Ollie crashed so we couldn’t completely get to the bottom of why we were uncompetitive, so we need to make another step tonight and then do the best we can tomorrow.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren
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Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
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Haas F1 Team
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Oliver Bearman apologised to his Haas mechanics after a crash during first practice for the F1 Australian Grand Prix saw the British rookie forced to sit out the second hour on Friday.
With a little over 20 minutes remaining of FP1, Bearman took too much kerb and ran wide at Turns 9 and 10, running onto the gravel and ultimately slamming into the wall, bringing out a red flag.
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While the 19-year-old was cleared by medical staff, his Haas needed plenty of attention and, despite the team’s best efforts, he was unable to get out of the garage for second practice.
“The feeling was good. I think just wanting a bit too much, too soon – which is kind of my approach, which isn’t really the right one for F1,” Bearman explained.
“In F2 you go straight to quali after the first practice session and in F1 you have two more, so there’s no need to be straight on the limit. Maybe I overdid it slightly, but it’s totally on me.
“Just a bit too much steering lock over the compression at the apex of 10, which sent me wide, and it’s quite bumpy out there. I just lost it.
“Once you’re in the gravel it’s so bumpy and there is asphalt, grass, bumps and I was already out of it, but once you’re there, honestly, there is no more control, unfortunately.”
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Both sides of the Haas garage worked on trying to repair Bearman’s VF-25 in the hope of sending him out towards the latter stages of the afternoon practice session. However, their attempts were vain as Bearman was unable to take to the track at Albert Park.
Asked if he felt well physically, Bearman replied: “Yes, fine, it was a small hit, just not great for the car. So, yeah, my apologies to the team.
“It would have been nice just to do an install and check everything, make sure everything was OK for tomorrow.
“The guys did an amazing job, both sides of the garage helping me out to try and get me back on track. I can only apologise to them, and I owe them a few beers on Sunday.
“They’ve had a busy few weeks starting out with everything, building up the second car now, and to have the damage so early on and to put them back to work and give them a long evening is not really good enough. So, yeah, I can only apologise to them.”
While Bearman was confined to the back of the garage, fellow Haas newcomer Esteban Ocon was the slowest of the 19 runners able to post a time in FP2.
Having completed 31 laps, the Frenchman’s best effort still left him over a second and a half off the pace set by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Asked by Motorsport.com if there was more in the car, Ocon said: “It’s still very early days. Of course, it wasn’t the smoothest day for us.”
“We’ve had quite a few difficulties in some areas, and we need to smooth that all together. There’s a lot for us to test. We completely changed the car from P1 to P2.
“There are still some readings that we’re not happy with in P2. We’ve lost a little bit of time in some sessions, and we also didn’t get the full running with the two cars to be able to compare with both set-ups in general.
“It hasn’t been the smoothest day, but it’s the first Friday of the year, so that’s pretty normal.”
Team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted to Haas having had “a pretty difficult day” in Melbourne, with the outfit needing further analysis to get to the bottom of its worries.
“It wasn’t the performance we were expecting,” Komatsu said. “We have one indication as to why in FP1, but Ollie crashed so we couldn’t completely get to the bottom of why we were uncompetitive, so we need to make another step tonight and then do the best we can tomorrow.”
Additional reporting by Filip Cleeren
Photos from Australian GP – Free Practice
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Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
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Cadillac has been known for decades as the ‘American Dream’, and its arrival into Formula 1 next season will only serve to further increase the ever-growing interest in the series in the United States.
Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z and Marilyn Monroe all drove Cadillacs, and as one classic car collector put it: “Owning a Cadillac is like owning a piece of American history.”
Liberty Media has driven American fandom in F1 to heights hitherto unseen, with Netflix’s Drive to Survive reaching a new audience now served by three races across the country in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas.
A perfect platform, then, for General Motors to introduce Cadillac as the 11th team on the F1 grid – especially when aiming to build a fanbase and a host of commercial deals to bring in sponsorship revenue.
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But, I hear you cry, America already has a Formula 1 squad in the shape of Haas – a team owned by Ohio native Gene Haas and which debuted in the championship in 2016.
Running with the stars and stripes on its cars, Haas has tapped into its unique position as an American team – but it is a role that will come under threat from next year.
“I think that the expansion of the championship and the races in the US, plus we know about how television broadcast has worked over the past few years – that has definitely benefited Haas,” John Rowady, founder and CEO of US-based sports marketing agency rEvolution told Autosport.
“But I’d also say that Haas had been running essentially a Ferrari supplier program. So there is a bit of balance there…maybe a lot of new or interested companies that are entering into Formula 1 may not have truly understood that it was an American-based team for a number of years.
“Cadillac is joining at a perfect time almost – we know the fan interest is growing, but the business interest, the commercial interest is also growing in the US, hand in hand almost. And obviously, here in America, they have a very valuable brand.”
The value of the brand could be something which sees Cadillac usurp Haas quite rapidly, given the aforementioned seemingly unique place it holds in the hearts of Americans.
The commercial opportunities are, according to Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon, already stacking up.
“I personally think that we have something very new and very fresh to offer in so many ways,” he said. “Cadillac itself from a brand point of view has got a huge heritage, and not least in innovation, so there’s a very rich resource there that we can play to.
Cadillac F1
Photo by: FIA
“I’m certainly encouraged by the level of interest that we’ve had, and in fact for a growing team, the interest levels, it risks outstripping our capacity to deal with it in the short term. So from that point of view, it’s very, very encouraging.”
“An awful lot of the interest that we’ve had is from brands who have not shown much interest in Formula 1 up to now, just purely and simply because it didn’t have whatever it is that they’re looking for, and I think we’re able to offer that.
“So that puts a new dynamic on things, and I’d be very disappointed if we were not actually increasing the broad reach that Formula 1 already has. I’m certainly hopeful that we’d be able to bring some innovative new partnerships into F1, and some existing ones as well.
“We are a truly American team, we’re investing heavily in the US, creating facilities and creating jobs, and that is something that resonates a lot with potential partners.”
Haas had a record 19 partners last season, 10 of which were American, with the team having signed up seven new US-based partners across 2023.
MoneyGram is the biggest of those American brands, having signed a $20 million a year deal to become Haas’ title partner from 2023 onwards.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
It is not just at Haas where US brands have started to proliferate: “It is the American involvement that has grown so big, going from 40 partners to 115 in a couple of years, and they still keep coming,” Spomotion Analytics’ Bjorn Stenbacka told Autosport.
Cadillac will want to harness the increased interest, hoping its position in the American marketplace can drive such deals forward.
“Cadillac isn’t new to this; they are high performing as a brand and as a performance motorsports company out of General Motors,” adds Rowady.
“This platform of commercial opportunities now broadens the ability for different types of corporations and different types of fan expansion, different revenue streams to get involved. I think that’s also crucial as part of how we look at Cadillac F1 entering the space.”
If Cadillac brings in a host of new, as yet untapped brands into the world of F1, what does that mean for Haas?
“I actually think that it’s going to benefit them both,” said Rowady. “Because we are finally starting to build out more staying power for the Americans.
“Whether the Europeans like that or not, Liberty does realise that having the American fanbase is crucial to growth and expansion of the sport – for the commercialisation staying power of the sport.”
In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Andretti Autosport
Haas F1 Team
Cadillac Racing
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Cadillac has been known for decades as the ‘American Dream’, and its arrival into Formula 1 next season will only serve to further increase the ever-growing interest in the series in the US.
Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Jay-Z and Marilyn Monroe all drove Cadillacs, and as one classic car collector put it: “Owning a Cadillac is like owning a piece of American history.”
Liberty Media has driven American fandom in F1 to heights hitherto unseen, with Netflix’s Drive to Survive reaching a new audience now served by three races across the country in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas.
A perfect platform, then, for General Motors to introduce Cadillac as the 11th team on the F1 grid – especially when aiming to build a fanbase and a host of commercial deals to bring in sponsorship revenue.
Read Also:
But, I hear you cry, America already has a Formula 1 squad in the shape of Haas – a team owned by Ohio native Gene Haas that debuted in the championship in 2016.
Running with the stars and stripes on its cars, Haas has tapped into its unique position as an American team – but it is a role that will come under threat from next year.
“I think that the expansion of the championship and the races in the US, plus we know about how television broadcast has worked over the past few years – that has definitely benefited Haas,” John Rowady, founder and CEO of US-based sports marketing agency rEvolution told Motorsport.com.
“But I’d also say that Haas had been running essentially a Ferrari supplier program. So there is a bit of balance there that maybe a lot of new or interested companies that are entering into Formula 1 may not have truly understood that it was an American-based team for a number of years.
“Cadillac is joining at a perfect time almost – we know the fan interest is growing, but the business interest, the commercial interest is also growing in the US, hand in hand almost and obviously, here in America, they have a very valuable brand.”
The value of the brand could be something which sees Cadillac usurp Haas quite rapidly, given the aforementioned seemingly unique place it holds in the hearts of Americans.
The commercial opportunities are, according to Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon, already stacking up.
“I personally think that we have something very new and very fresh to offer in so many ways,” he said. “Cadillac itself from a brand point of view has got a huge heritage, and not least in innovation, so there’s a very rich resource there that we can play to.
Cadillac F1
Photo by: FIA
“I’m certainly encouraged by the level of interest that we’ve had, and in fact for a growing team, the interest levels, it risks outstripping our capacity to deal with it in the short term. So from that point of view, it’s very, very encouraging.”
“An awful lot of the interest that we’ve had is from brands who have not shown much interest in Formula 1 up to now, just purely and simply because it didn’t have whatever it is that they’re looking for, and I think we’re able to offer that.
“So that puts a new dynamic on things, and I’d be very disappointed if we were not actually increasing the broad reach that Formula 1 already has. I’m certainly hopeful that we’d be able to bring some innovative new partnerships into F1, and some existing ones as well.
“We are a truly American team, we’re investing heavily in the US, creating facilities and creating jobs, and that is something that resonates a lot with potential partners.”
Haas had a record 19 partners last season, 10 of which were American, with the team having signed up seven new US-based partners across 2023.
MoneyGram is the biggest of those American brands, having signed a $20 million a year deal to become Haas’ title partner from 2023 onwards.
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
It is not just at Haas where US brands have started to proliferate: “It is the American involvement that has grown so big, going from 40 partners to 115 in a couple of years, and they still keep coming,” Spomotion Analytics’ Bjorn Stenbacka told Motorsport.com.
Cadillac will want to harness the increased interest, hoping its position in the American marketplace can drive such deals forward.
“Cadillac isn’t new to this; they are high performing as a brand and as a performance motorsports company out of General Motors,” adds Rowady.
“This platform of commercial opportunities now broadens the ability for different types of corporations and different types of fan expansion, different revenue streams to get involved. I think that’s also crucial as part of how we look at Cadillac F1 entering the space.”
If Cadillac brings in a host of new, as yet untapped brands into the world of F1, what does that mean for Haas?
“I actually think that it’s going to benefit them both,” said Rowady. “Because we are finally starting to build out more staying power for the Americans.
“Whether the Europeans like that or not, Liberty does realise that having the American fanbase is crucial to growth and expansion of the sport – for the commercialisation staying power of the sport.”
Photos from Australian GP – Wednesday
In this article
Mark Mann-Bryans
Formula 1
Andretti Autosport
Cadillac Racing
Haas F1 Team
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For the fourth part of a mini-series where Motorsport.com is assessing the early Formula 1 careers of the six 2025 rookies, today we’re introducing Oliver Bearman. He, more than any other F1 newbie this year, is responsible for the current large rookie crop.
After all, it was Bearman’s one-off appearance for Ferrari in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that made the F1 paddock sit up and pay attention to how a highly-rated youngster can perform if given the right chance – one really denied to previous Formula 2 champions Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire.
Bearman’s big break most famously came about because of then Ferrari star Carlos Sainz requiring urgent appendicitis surgery in Jeddah.
And, as that was the first of three F1 starts Bearman made last year, like Liam Lawson he occupies a different place to the other rookies in terms of already possessing considerable previous F1 experience.
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Although Bearman continued to impress Haas with his Baku and Brazil stand-in appearances for Kevin Magnussen later last year – after first wowing team principal Ayao Komatsu with his skills in a rookie practice outing at the 2023 Mexican round – everything that’s happening now comes back to what he did in Jeddah.
Bearman had by then raced up the junior formula ladder, winning the 2021 ADAC and Italian Formula 4 titles. Elevated into Formula 3 the following year, he finished third.
Bearman then spent two years in Formula 2 – winning seven times, including four as a rookie in 2023 – but his F1 substitute appearances thwarted a 2024 title tilt even around his squad Prema Racing struggling to get the best from the category’s new car early that year.
Bearman burst onto the scene with impressive display as Sainz stand-in
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
By taking Sainz’s car to a seventh-place finish in Jeddah, without the full complement of practice sessions to gel further, Bearman showed that he could be trusted to get at least enough of the job done at F1 level. This was, after all, as his temporary team-mate Charles Leclerc showed that Saturday, a car that could’ve been on the Jeddah podium.
But Bearman’s result also showed what could be done when a young driver commanding a fraction in salary terms of a long-established F1 star was backed with conviction.
And Komatsu, needing to maximise squad owner Gene Haas’s existing investment to secure more at the American team, saw enough to convince him Bearman was worth fully signing for 2025. Here his salary is said to be minimal due to his ongoing Ferrari junior links.
Intriguingly, it has even been suggested to Motorsport.com that, had Komatsu been in charge of Haas in late 2023 after Bearman’s impressive Mexican debut, then he might’ve been making his rookie bow at Magnussen’s expense this time a year ago.
Like fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, Bearman comes from a wealthy family, with his father David Bearman the founder and CEO of the Aventum insurance company.
The resources such backing builds have given Bearman a considerable support team. In Baku, for example, he was accompanied by an assistant and a mind coach. David is surely set to make further regular appearances in the F1 paddock (he was in Bahrain for testing, for instance), along with Bearman’s manager, Chris Harfield.
They’re all switched on to the business potential of Bearman’s F1 stint, arranging a dedicated stand at January’s ASI show in Birmingham, which sold the Briton’s personal merchandise and hosted an autograph session so popular with fans its queue closed hours before Bearman arrived to take part.
Bearman benefits from having a strong support network around him
Photo by: Ferrari
Such an array of support will be helpful for a rookie in pushing away outside noise, as well as providing the 19-year-old with quick reassurance if things awry.
That said, one of Bearman’s strengths as a driver is his ability to quickly move on from mistakes and challenges, with the Baku event providing another handy example here.
Early in that race, Bearman’s pace was too conservative for the tyres he was initially running – as dictated by Haas’s strategy.
Bearman complained when asked to move aside for Nico Hulkenberg – with whom he gelled well after his youthful exuberance broke through what Motorsport.com understands was a slightly cool first reception from his second temporary F1 team-mate of 2024 – but even after complying, rescued his race.
He battled Lewis Hamilton well and then nipped by Hulkenberg in the aftermath of Sergio Perez’s shunt with Sainz late on. This showed positive instincts shining through in a tricky situation.
Going off repeatedly while standing in again for Magnussen in Brazil is, however, the most recent memory F1’s collective hive mind really has of Bearman. That’s other than a stone flicking off his car on the last morning of Bahrain testing and shattering the glass side start/finish control gantry.
The Bahrain event had Bearman and new Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon mainly go through the strict tyre management drills Haas employed so well with Hulkenberg and Magnussen last year.
“I’m going away from this test wanting a little bit more,” Bearman said as the test ended. “There’s no denying that. I missed out on low-fuel runs pretty much through a few issues that we had. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do the performance runs that I was hoping for and that really helped me to get confidence in the car.
“But it’s not all negative because the car was performing pretty well in high fuel, so I’m pretty happy with the feeling I have.”
Rookie did miss out on some running in Bahrain but at least has existing Haas experience
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
But perhaps one eye-opening difference to his predecessors the youngster showed in Bahrain was in revealing the bodywork issue Haas currently has that blighted his final session of testing (the VF-25’s engine cover is currently said to be very thin and it peeled back at speed that day) during the day three press conference.
It will be interesting to see if he becomes more guarded as the year progresses.
Nevertheless, Bearman’s early days at Haas are going very positively – even by the end of the Baku weekend last year the team was already pretty besotted with his enthusiastic character. Although what is said to be his considerable delectation for sweets might make quite a hole in the team’s catering budget – if Christian Horner’s excuses for Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap breach are to be believed…
In this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
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For the fourth part of a mini-series where Autosport is assessing the early Formula 1 careers of the six 2025 rookies, today we’re introducing Ollie Bearman. He, more than any other F1 newbie this year, is responsible for the current large rookie crop.
After all, it was Bearman’s one-off appearance for Ferrari in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that made the F1 paddock sit up and pay attention to how a highly-rated youngster can perform if given the right chance – one, really denied to previous Formula 2 champions Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire.
Bearman’s big break most famously came about because of then Ferrari star Carlos Sainz requiring urgent appendicitis surgery in Jeddah.
And, as that was the first of three F1 starts Bearman made last year, like Liam Lawson he occupies a different place to the other rookies in terms of already possessing considerable previous F1 experience.
Introducing F1’s rookies: Alonso and Perez spats will stand half-rookie Lawson well at Red Bull
Although Bearman continued to impress Haas with his Baku and Brazil stand-in appearances for Kevin Magnussen later last year – after first wowing team principal Ayao Komatsu with his skills in a rookie practice outing at the 2023 Mexican round – everything that’s happening now comes back to what he did in Jeddah.
Bearman had by then raced up the junior formula ladder – winning the 2021 ADAC and Italian Formula 4 titles. Elevated into Formula 3 the following year, he finished third.
Bearman then spent two years in Formula 2 – winning seven times, including four as a rookie in 2023 – but his F1 substitute appearances thwarted a 2024 title tilt even around his squad Prema Racing struggling to get the best from the category’s new car early that year.
Bearman burst onto the scene with impressive display as Sainz stand-in
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
By taking Sainz’s car to a seventh-place finish in Jeddah, without the full complement of practice sessions to gel further, Bearman showed that he could be trusted to get at least enough of the job done at F1 level. This was, after all, as his temporary team-mate Charles Leclerc showed that Saturday, a car that could’ve been on the Jeddah podium.
But Bearman’s result also showed what could be done when a young driver commanding a fraction in salary terms of a long-established F1 star was backed with conviction.
And Komatsu, needing to maximise squad owner Gene Haas’s existing investment to secure more at the American team, saw enough to convince him Bearman was worth fully signing for 2025. Here his salary is said to be minimal due to his ongoing Ferrari junior links.
Intriguingly, it has even been suggested to Autosport that, had Komatsu been in charge of Haas in late 2023 after Bearman’s impressive Mexican debut, then he might’ve been making his rookie bow at Magnussen’s expense this time a year ago.
Like his fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, Bearman comes from a wealthy family, with his Dad, David Bearman, the founder and CEO of the Aventum insurance company.
The resources such backing builds have given Bearman a considerable support team. In Baku, for example, he was accompanied by an assistant and a mind coach. David is surely set to make further appearances in the F1 paddock (he was in Bahrain for testing, for instance), along with Bearman’s manager, Chris Harfield.
They’re all switched on to the business potential of Bearman’s F1 stint – arranging a dedicated stand at the ASI show in Birmingham in January that sold the Briton’s personal merchandise and hosted an autograph session so popular with fans its queue closed hours before Bearman arrived to take part.
Bearman benefits from having a strong support network around him
Photo by: Ferrari
Such an array of support will be helpful for a rookie in pushing away outside noise, as well as providing the 19-year-old with quick reassurance if things awry.
That said, one of Bearman’s strengths as a driver is his ability to quickly move on from mistakes and challenges, with the Baku event providing another handy example here.
Early in that race, Bearman’s pace was too conservative for the tyres he was initially running – as dictated by Haas’s strategy.
Bearman complained when asked to move aside for Nico Hulkenberg – with whom he gelled well after his youthful exuberance broke through what Autosport understands was a slightly cool first reception from his second temporary F1 team-mate of 2024 – but even after complying, rescued his race.
He battled Lewis Hamilton well and then nipped by Hulkenberg in the aftermath of Sergio Perez’s shunt with Sainz late on. This showed positive instincts shining through in a tricky situation.
Going off repeatedly while standing in again for Magnussen in Brazil is, however, the most recent memory F1’s collective hive mind really has of Bearman. That’s other than a stone flicking off his car on the last morning of Bahrain testing and shattering the glass side start/finish control gantry.
The Bahrain event had Bearman and new Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon mainly go through the strict tyre management drills Haas employed so well with Hulkenberg and Magnussen last year.
“I’m going away from this test wanting a little bit more,” Bearman said as the test ended. “There’s no denying that. I missed out on low fuel runs pretty much through a few issues that we had. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do the performance runs that I was hoping for and that really helped me to get confidence in the car.
“But it’s not all negative because the car was performing pretty well in high fuel, so I’m pretty happy with the feeling I have.”
Rookie did miss out on some running in Bahrain but at least has existing Haas experience
Photo by: Haas F1 Team
But perhaps one eye-opening difference to his predecessors the youngster showed in Bahrain was in revealing the bodywork issue Haas currently has that blighted his final session of testing (the VF-25’s engine cover is currently said to be very thin and it peeled back at speed that day) during the day three press conference.
It will be interesting to see if he becomes more guarded as the year progresses.
Nevertheless, Bearman’s early days at Haas are going very positively – even by the end of the Baku weekend last year the team was pretty besotted with his enthusiastic character.
Although what is said to be his considerable delectation for sweets might make a hole in the team’s catering budget – if Christian Horner’s excuses for Red Bull’s 2021 cost cap breach are to be believed…
In this article
Alex Kalinauckas
Formula 1
Oliver Bearman
Haas F1 Team
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
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