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Oliver Bearman addresses 'huge deal' as Haas prepare for new F1 regulations
Oliver Bearman has said that the new Formula 1 regulations bring a
"huge deal of excitement" for him ahead of his second season with
Haas. On Monday afternoon, Haas unveiled the livery for its 2026
challenger—the VF-26—which Bearman will hope to use to make further
progress after his debut season. For the first time in the Briton's
F1 career, Bearman is preparing for a major regulations change,
with the power unit featuring a 50/50 split between electrical
power and internal combustion. It is a significant year for
Bearman, who is pushing for a Ferrari seat potentially as early as
2027, should Lewis Hamilton retire from the pinnacle of motorsport.
Bearman made huge strides during his rookie campaign but enters
2026 with 10 penalty points on his super licence, putting him at
severe risk of a possible race ban. Points will not be removed from
the 20-year-old's licence until the Canadian Grand Prix in mid-May,
creating a significant obstacle across the opening rounds.
Nevertheless, it is a time of great excitement for Bearman, who
cannot wait to get stuck into the new regulations. "I feel these
changes are the biggest in the history of Formula 1, so with that
is a huge deal of excitement for me," said Bearman. "I'm heading
into a regulation change for the first time in my life, really.
"Last year was a big step for me, but I think even from the
beginning, we knew that if we put the car in the right window, we
were still going to be able to fight for points, and we had an idea
of the competitiveness of the car. "That lack of knowledge heading
into 2026 is good and bad, as on one side I feel like we can really
have an impact straight away, but also it's horrible not knowing.
"I would like to skip forward six months to see where we are, but
I'm going to be giving it everything to make sure that where we are
is as high up as possible."
