The budget cap was supposed to prevent the powerful teams from spending recklessly. At Haas, the problem is exactly the opposite: the team still doesn't have the resources to reach the permitted limit. Ayao Komatsu praises the talent of his teams but acknowledges that they are facing the competition "with their hands tied." Formula 1 has therefore succeeded in capping spending… without guaranteeing that everyone can reach the limit.
Haas has no shortage of talent, but of financial fuel.
While Mercedes Benz, Classic Ferrari for sale eRed Bull While they are looking for ways to exploit every dollar allowed, Haas is still trying to raise enough money to participate in the same accounting exercise.
When questioned about his team's ability to operate at the maximum level permitted by the financial regulations, Ayao Komatsu did not try to disguise reality:
"I wish it were the case, but it isn't." » The Japanese boss claims that finding the revenue to Haas Reaching the ceiling is now one of his priorities.
The revelation is brutal, but it does not mean that Haas The team is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy. It competes normally in the championship, has solid partners, and even occupies seventh place in the constructors' standings. It simply spends far less than its direct rivals, in a discipline where saving money is only a virtue until the car stops improving.
A ceiling set at 215 million… which Haas is watching from below
For 2026, the budget cap has been raised to approximately $215 million to account for new regulations and rising costs. Certain expenses remain excluded, including driver salaries, the salaries of the three highest-paid employees, and a portion of commercial activities. Major teams must therefore carefully manage their spending to avoid exceeding this limit. HaasShe, however, is still not there yet.
The team reportedly has around 400 employees, while several rivals employ over 1,000. Even though some of these employees work in sectors excluded from the budget cap, the difference illustrates the disparity in industrial capacity between the smallest team on the grid and the factories capable of producing a new development almost every week. The budget cap was supposed to bring the teams closer together. It does prevent the giants from spending half a billion dollars per season, but it doesn't provide the missing millions for the smaller teams.
La FIA She installed a shared roof. She just didn't include the ladder.
Komatsu protects his engineers and takes the blame.
Ayao Komatsu He refuses to present the current difficulties as a failure of his engineers. He maintains that Haas has the skills, clear communication and an internal culture without systematically seeking to blame.
His problem lies elsewhere: he believes he is not giving « enough ammunition » to his teams to fully demonstrate what they can do. The Japanese manager therefore personally assumes the responsibility of finding more revenue and improving the work environment.
This defense is important because the VF-26 had demonstrated real potential at the beginning of the season. Oliver Bearman had finished seventh in Australia and then fifth in China, allowing Haas to briefly occupy fourth place in the championship after the first two rounds.
Komatsu He believes that this initial success proved the quality of the work done despite limited resources. However, he also acknowledges that such a level was not sustainable with the current structure. In summary, Haas He knows how to build a decent car with very little. Now he just needs to learn how to develop it with even less.
The blistering start turned into a reverse lap
After eleven Grand Prix, Haas totaled 21 points and occupies seventh place in the championship. Oliver Bearman registered 18, compared to only three for Esteban OconThe figure becomes more worrying when we look at its distribution. Haas They had scored 17 points in the first two races, then only four in the following nine. The team hasn't scored a single point since Monaco and is currently on a five-race points-free streak.
Meanwhile, its rivals have brought more numerous and sometimes much more significant developments. Oliver Bearman acknowledged that the rate of development in 2026 was incomparably higher than that observed the previous year and that Haas simply couldn't keep up with the same pace.
The Briton also felt that some new features had not produced the expected results. Komatsu He contested this technical interpretation, but not the general finding: Haas has been overtaken in the race for development.
That's the beauty of new regulations. Everyone theoretically starts from scratch, then the teams with more staff, tools and money quickly start moving faster again.
The revolution usually lasts until the first major aerodynamic development.
Hungary presented the bill
The Hungarian Grand Prix illustrated the deterioration of the situation. Esteban Ocon et Oliver Bearman They qualified only fifteenth and seventeenth. In the race, the Frenchman finished sixteenth, while his teammate was classified nineteenth after a spin and a penalty for failing to respect blue flags.
Bearman admitted to having lost all confidence in the car over the weekend. This goes beyond a simple lack of speed: when a driver can no longer anticipate the reactions of his single-seater, every development lap lost ultimately translates into hesitation behind the wheel.
At the start of the season, the VF-26 allowed Bearman to fight for a top-five finish. Before the summer break, both Haas cars had become candidates for early elimination and finishes far from the points. The car hasn't necessarily regressed. The others have simply moved forward while it waited for the budget for the next package.
Toyota lends its name, but not yet an unlimited checkbook.
The situation seems all the more paradoxical because Toyota Gazoo Racing became Haas' title sponsor in 2026. The technical partnership between the two structures had already begun in 2024, before being strengthened for this season.
Toyota provides, in particular, infrastructure, access to certain tools, support in testing programs and resources intended to complement the model HaasThe agreement should allow the American team to develop more parts in-house and strengthen its technical capabilities. But a prestigious title sponsor doesn't instantly transform the smallest team on the grid into a 1,000-person factory. The name Toyota It now occupies a prominent place on the bodywork. The budget, however, has clearly not yet read the new logo.
Komatsu He maintains, however, that he is conducting discussions deemed very positive for increasing revenue. He wants to reach the revenue cap as quickly as possible, without announcing a specific timeline. In the language of the Formula 1This means that negotiations are progressing. For the engineers, it mainly means that the wind tunnel still needs to be put on hold.
Ferrari, Toyota, Dallara: Haas is also assembling its economic model
Since its beginnings in 2016, Haas operates with a specific structure. The team buys from Classic Ferrari for sale as many components as the regulations allow, uses its own engine and gearbox, maintains a design office in Maranello, and works with Dallara on certain chassis-related activities. Its agreement with Classic Ferrari for sale runs at least until the end of 2028.
This model allowed it to enter F1 with fewer staff and less infrastructure than its competitors. It also provided it with several respectable seasons despite a lower investment.
But the limitations become apparent when a new regulation triggers a development war. Purchasing authorized components can streamline the structure; however, it doesn't replace the hundreds of additional engineers or the ability to test multiple concepts simultaneously.
Haas It can therefore be effective without being rich. The problem is that its opponents also become effective, while remaining much richer.
Ocon and Bearman have a car, but not yet the army behind them
Komatsu claims to have the pilots and personnel necessary to return to the battle. Oliver Bearman has already demonstrated the potential of the VF-26 early in the season, whileEsteban Ocon brings his experience with factory teams and long-term development.
But the results also highlight a worrying internal imbalance: Bearman scored six times more points thanOr withThe Frenchman only scored in Japan and Monaco, while his teammate almost single-handedly carried the spectacular start to the championship. Haas. The team isn't just lacking the resources to develop its car. It also needs to regain a level of performance that its two drivers can utilize. The budget doesn't automatically solve all the problems, but it at least allows for the analysis of several issues simultaneously.
Without him, Haas The team must choose: correct the car's behavior, produce new parts, improve simulation tools, or increase staff. Large teams can open four cases. The smaller team must first decide which one will remain closed.
The budget cap did not eliminate the poor
The situation of Haas This finally reveals the main weakness of the financial settlement.
The budget cap limits the expenses taken into account, but it doesn't guarantee comparable revenues, equivalent infrastructure, or similar staffing levels. A team capable of reaching the limit therefore retains a significant advantage over one that falls tens of millions short. The cap prevents the wealthiest teams from creating an insurmountable financial abyss. However, it doesn't transform every competitor into a top team.
Komatsu He is not calling for the system to be abolished. He simply wants the means to use it fully. He has also opposed further increases to the limit, arguing that each additional increase makes the objective even more unattainable. Haas.
This position is difficult to dispute: when you can't even reach the ceiling, raising it looks less like help and more like an accounting joke.
Ayao Komatsu He is right to defend his teams. Producing a single-seater capable of finishing fifth with around 400 employees is a remarkable achievement. But he is also right to recognize that this success cannot last if rivals develop faster, manufacture more parts, and employ twice as many people.
Haas is not doomed. Its strengthened partnership with Toyotaits lasting agreement with Classic Ferrari for sale And ongoing trade discussions may gradually narrow the gap. But the benefits will be neither immediate nor automatic.
Meanwhile, the American team is facing a strange version of the budget cap: everyone is allowed to spend up to $215 million, but Haas still needs to find the money to participate.
La Formula 1 She wanted to prevent teams from winning solely because of their wealth. She now discovers that you can also lose because you don't have enough.
