Haas’ first Formula 1 team reveals images of its 2026 car

Red Bull launched its new engine partnership with Ford in Detroit on Thursday, but the car displayed there in the team’s new livery was a show car that bore almost no resemblance to the 2026 car.

New rules for 2026 change both cars and power units (PU). The engines remain 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids, but the engine’s electrical components now have a much greater importance in overall performance, with a significant increase in power management around a lap and over the course of the race, and the engines must run on fully sustainable fuel produced either from biomass waste or industrial synthetic processes.

The teams will unveil their cars individually in a series of online launches over the next three weeks, before the first public test of the new season takes place in Bahrain from February 11-13, followed by a second test on February 18-20.

There is a first test in Barcelona in the last week of January, but this test is private, and no independent media is allowed.

The first race of the season is the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 6-8.

Team principal Ayo Komatsu said the extent of the organizational changes was a major challenge for Haas as the youngest team in Formula One.

“I don’t think any team, even the biggest, would say they are fully equipped to deal with this,” he said. “But the challenge is greater for us.”

“There will be a big difference between the teams because of two elements.

“The first is PU, where teams using the same supplier are supposed to be pooled, so Mercedes provides four teams, Ferrari three, Red Bull two, and Audi and Honda provide one team.

“Then on the aerodynamic side, it will be completely open, and development will happen quickly.

“The optional system in the first four races may be created very quickly, but I think it will be a very dynamic season. I expect that what you see in the first race and the second race will be very different when we get to the final races of the year.”

Komatsu said resolving the complexities of energy management will be a major focus in the first weeks of work.