Ferrari’s ADUO 2 upgrade is no “game changer” for Haas either

Setembro 8, 2026 lojamais44@gmail.com

Oliver Bearman says Ferrari’s ADUO 2 engine upgrade represents “a much smaller step” than Haas’ updated Formula 1 chassis.

The Prancing Horse introduced its second and final power unit upgrade of the 2026 season, courtesy of the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities system, with one such powertrain handed to Haas for the Italian Grand Prix. It was fitted to Bearman’s car.

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There was slight progress for the American team, as the young Briton qualified 12th, his best result since the Chinese Grand Prix in March. However, Haas still endured a seventh consecutive point-less round at Monza, equalling its worst streak since its 2021 write-off.

Bearman briefly held eighth place in the opening laps, but subsequently slipped back down the order as he couldn’t keep up with the Alpines and Racing Bulls. Having not pitted under the virtual safety car, he ended up down in 15th under the chequered flag.

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had made it clear that the ADUO 2 powertrain was not going to be a game changer, and Bearman agreed after qualifying.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

“It’s a much smaller step than what the [aero] upgrade was, let’s say,” the 21-year-old commented. “Of course, there’s a bit more in this track, but in terms of a season average, it wouldn’t have been enough to get us out of the fight for Q1, to be honest, if you put that engine on us in Zandvoort. I don’t think it was a game changer.

“Of course, more power is always nice, but you’ve read the news about how much it is. It’s definitely beneficial, but the biggest step was the [aero] upgrade, which was more than twice or three times the amount of power we got from the engine – which is testament to the team’s hard work, and I’m really, really proud of them for that.”

The Haas upgrade for Monza featured, among others, a revamped floor and revised bodywork on the sidepods and engine cover. While missing out on the new power unit, Ocon did benefit from the new aerodynamic parts, but still ended up seven tenths slower than his team-mate in Q2.

However, that does not mean Ferrari’s new engine is worth seven tenths, as the Frenchman suffered from the VF-26’s aero inconsistency – an issue that he believes to have plagued him at 10 of 13 grands prix so far this year.

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Asked after qualifying if the car’s inconsistency was any better than in practice, Ocon replied: “No, it wasn’t, unfortunately. We tried everything we could, taking all the bits in the garage to put it on the car. We did everything that we could, but we didn’t get to the bottom of the issue.

“Unfortunately, we’re still losing a lot of load compared to Ollie, especially on the rear of the car. It’s not ideal, clearly, but the guys did a mega job by trying that.

“And I was happy with my lap, you know. At the end of the day, I feel like I did a strong lap, I was happy with it. But the deficit of downforce plus the engine losses, it’s quite a lot around here. So that’s the max that we could have done.”

At least the veteran could find solace in the aero upgrades’ efficiency on the sister car: “They worked on Ollie’s side, yes, they did.” But both cars still finished behind the Audis, with the German brand just five points in arrears in the constructors’ championship.