Haas F1 Team on home soil ringing bells in New York and looking for big points in Miami

The American owned team are P4 in the 2026 Formula 1 constructors’ championship on 18 points after scoring in all three opening races.

Team principal Ayao Komatsu said the break since Japan had been used productively: “While we’ve all missed the thrill of competition, the time away we’ve had since the Japanese Grand Prix has been well spent across our many team operations.

“We’ve enjoyed some fantastic fan and partner engagement opportunities with the drivers, events that ordinarily we wouldn’t have been able to commit to during a regular start to a season.

“To see the support that’s out there for the team has been amazing, especially as we head into our first home race of the season in the United States.”

Komatsu revealed that the team had focused on extracting more from the VF 26: “On the technical side, we’ve deepened our understanding of the VF 26 following the first three races.

“We’ve obviously had more time to analyze our data from those races and continued to look to further improve reliability and ultimately our vehicle performance.

“We head to Miami keen to build on the points scoring performances we’ve earned at each round so far, but we believe there’s more to unlock We had some good momentum going before the break, which has been anything but a break in reality," ventured the Haas team boss.

Komatsu added that the sprint format would increase pressure on execution: “Finally, it’s a Sprint weekend, which always brings time pressures and challenges, but it’s the same for everyone. The positive thing is we’re back racing and we always enjoy our time in Miami, we can’t wait to get going.”

Driver Ollie Bearman said the weekend would present another learning opportunity: “I’m very excited to come back to racing, it’s been a long break and Miami is a fun track. We have a Sprint weekend which is still a big challenge for us with these new regulations.

“We’re figuring out new things every session so I’m excited to go and explore the nuances and the challenges of Miami. Hopefully we can continue our good start to the year and everyone will be replenished and ready to push again.”

Teammate Esteban Ocon highlighted the expected conditions and limited track time: “Miami is probably the first race this year which is going to be very warm and humid, so this is something we haven’t figured out with the new cars yet.

“Obviously, it’s a Sprint event so quick learning is going to be required. We’ve done a lot of work in the simulator beforehand to try and get the deployment right, but there are things you’ll find out in FP1 if you have a clean session, so that will be the aim.

“The car has performed quite well in the first couple of events, so we’re looking to have a good weekend and hopefully get some points for the team," concluded the Frenchman.

TGR Haas F1 Team marked its return to racing in North America by ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, ahead of the Miami Grand Prix weekend.

Team principal Ayao Komatsu and Toyota Motor North America executive Mark Templin led the ceremony, highlighting the ongoing collaboration between Haas and Toyota Gazoo Racing. The event formed part of a wider promotional push as Formula 1 prepares for one of its three United States races this season.

Drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were also present in New York. Their combined results in the opening three rounds of the 2026 season have lifted Haas to fourth in the constructors’ championship with 18 points.

Komatsu described the occasion as a significant moment for the team and its partners, pointing to the benefits already being seen from the Toyota partnership and the strong start to the campaign. The team also featured prominently on Wall Street with a large promotional display outside the exchange.

Haas now shifts focus back to track action at the Miami International Autodrome, where round four of the championship takes place from May 1 to May 3, featuring the second sprint weekend of the season.