On the eve of the first seasonal appointment that includes the Sprint race in the program, Haas arrives in Shanghai with six points in the Constructors’ championship thanks to the 7th place achieved by Oliver Bearman in the last Australian GP. A more than positive performance by the Briton, who at the wheel of his VF-26 finished first behind all the top teams.
Bearman wants an ‘encore’
A result that #87 will want to replicate or even improve in China, where he arrived with great determination: “I am happy to be back and I am very excited, especially after a good first race of the season for us – he declared – it is a technical track, with very high G-forces to manage, so it is good that the Chinese Grand Prix is at the beginning of the year! It is the first Sprint with these new regulations, so if last week we thought it was a challenge, this weekend it will be even more so for everyone. I have no doubt that if we stay united as a team, we will demonstrate once again why we deserve to fight in the top positions of the midfield“.
Read more 2026 Chinese GP, what will the weather be like? First Sprint of the year clear. Cloudy Sunday
First points for Ocon?
On the other hand, the one who did not reach the top-10 in Melbourne, despite coming close to this goal, was teammate Esteban Ocon, but the French driver also highlighted the main difficulties of a track like Shanghai: “It is a really beautiful circuit, but it is also a challenge for everyone – he admitted – the complex turns 1, 2 and 3 are very demanding and technical, so it is necessary to have good confidence in the car. In China it will be a Sprint weekend, and it will be tough, since we are still at the beginning of the year and there is still a lot to learn. Also, the support we have in China increases every year, and it is fantastic to see, so I look forward to seeing our Chinese fans and I hope we can achieve some good results”.
Read more Leclerc: “Our advantage at the start will not last long”
