F1 | Ferrari, Bearman reveals behind-the-scenes details on Power Unit management – Chinese GP
Oliver Bearman has revealed an interesting behind-the-scenes story about the relationship between Haas and Ferrari following the first race weekend of the 2026 Formula 1 season. According to the young British driver, the Scuderia from Maranello is sharing a significant amount of information with the American team in order to help them better understand the operation of the new power unit.
With the introduction of the 2026 regulatory changes, energy management has become one of the most important elements for achieving strong lap-time performance. Teams must constantly decide when to deploy electric power and when instead to save energy through techniques such as lift and coast.
During the Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes demonstrated clear superiority precisely in this area, securing pole position with a margin of around eight tenths of a second over Ferrari and Red Bull. A gap that surprised even some of the German manufacturer’s customer teams.
According to Oliver Bearman, however, the situation between Haas and Ferrari is very different from the relationship between Mercedes and its customer teams. “I have to say Ferrari has been incredibly open and incredibly helpful with us in terms of energy usage strategy, giving us as much information as possible to help us,” the British driver explained.
Bearman nevertheless emphasized that the performance gap between the two cars remains evident. “They have been really very helpful, but obviously there is a bigger difference between our cars. They are almost one session ahead of us in qualifying.”
The Haas driver also explained that the way a car approaches corners has a significant impact on energy management strategies. “When lap time improves, the energy demands change a lot as well. There are corners that they can take flat out, while for us they might require braking or a downshift. So we have to adapt the strategy in a different way.”
During the Melbourne weekend, Haas began to understand these differences more clearly thanks to the data collected on track. Ollie Bearman cited Turn 5 of the Australian circuit as an example, where Ferrari was already able to take the corner flat out from the very first sessions.
Looking ahead to the next round of the championship, the Chinese Grand Prix, Ollie Bearman explained that Haas will mainly focus on the main race. “For us the priority will be the main race, because that’s where we have the best chance of scoring points.”
The synergy between Maranello and Kannapolis could prove to be Haas’s greatest asset in a season where software logic is just as important as aerodynamic grip. By leaning on Ferrari’s advanced simulations, Ollie Bearman and his team are accelerating their learning curve in a technical era that has left many veteran teams scratching their heads. This shared data on energy deployment might just be the edge Haas needs to stay in the midfield hunt. The 2026 season is a marathon of data, and Haas is fortunately running it with a very powerful partner by its side.
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