Haas F1 technical director Andrea de Zordo expanded on how the 2026 car came about, the changes that can be seen plus milestones and early prediction.
Haas showcased first renders of its 2026 F1 car, the VF-26, on Monday evening. It retained its corporate colours integrating the enhanced partnership with Toyota Racing. Post the launch, the team shared a Q&A with technical director de Zordo, who spilled beans on the preparations.
He revealed that Haas started early work on the 2026 car, as early as the second half of 2024 season. There was restriction on doing large work by the FIA, but the teams could carry out some concept work which they could do. They had focus on VF-25 as well, but had to split things.
In terms of the visible changes, de Zordo stressed on the front and rear wings, which will be seen moving under the new method to ease overtaking. A big change that cannot be seen will be the 50-50 divide between combustion engine and the electrical part.
He feels the car will see changes in shape as the season progresses. The interpretations game will be on from the F1 teams and they could see things which they didn’t think about. De Zordo also relayed the milestones achieved by Haas during the course of preparing for 2026 season.
Managing 2026 work –
De Zordo: “It actually started in the second half of 2024 with a small group looking at the concept of the new car, and it remained with that group until the launch of the VF-25. The split between resources from there continued to increase towards the 2026 program, fully switching over after the summer break last season. We had a small group still working on the VF-25 until pretty late on due to the tight championship fight, and that was a challenge to manage. It was about deciding the main points of focus for both 2025 and 2026, without losing too much time on what we knew would be a big season.”
Changes on car that can be seen –
De Zordo: “I think the most visible changes will be the different-looking front wing and rear wing, the addition of a board in the side of the car before the floor that wasn’t there before, and the fact that the cars will be slightly smaller. Then, when the car is on track, fans will see that both front and rear wings now move, but differently from previous years because they won’t only open and close during DRS straights, but whenever the driver chooses. In my opinion, the biggest change isn’t visible and it’s the different split of energy for the power unit, between the internal combustion engine and the electrical part. It’s a monumental change and one that will impact the way we go racing.”
Milestones covered in the process –
De Zordo: “The process has been a marathon, and when we think we’re at the end of it, I suspect it will just be the beginning. The first milestone was the test of the dummy chassis and the homologation of the proper chassis. We had to work promptly and were obviously concerned that if we had to fix something, that would mean a lot of extra work. All was fine thankfully, and that is what I’d consider the first milestone. “Another big moment was the homologation of the front wing, the definition of the mechanism for it, and the lab test of it, to prove what we thought was fine.
“When we arrived to the simulator for the first time and considered where the lap time comes from next year, we knew it was going to be quite different. It was the first assessment of what we were doing and to check that we understood where to proceed. Then finally, fire-up. There’s lots [from Design Office too], but I’ll focus on 2026 now and won’t look back! What I have been very impressed with is the work ethic and determination of this group. They’re working very hard, very long days – often into the middle of the night – and they’re not doing that because I’m telling them to, but because they want to. They’re all deeply invested, and it’s a big sign of maturity and team spirit, so I think and hope that everyone is proud of this achievement.”
Early predictions –
De Zordo: “It’s definitely not just to finish a race because we’re not here to participate, we’re here to challenge. We’ve put so much work in because we want to produce the best possible car and to be as competitive as possible, and we’ll be looking to develop for round one already. There are too many unknowns to guess where anyone will be, it’s very unpredictable, but we’re going to start to discover a lot over the next month.”
Interpretations of rules –
De Zordo: “It’s difficult to predict now before the first race, and we’re always interested to see if someone has come up with something new. This year, that’s very relevant because literally everything is new, including the power unit. There’s going to be a lot of work initially on both the aerodynamics and power unit, and in both I expect there to be a fast evolution – what that will be – I can’t say. For sure, the new regulations will change the balance between aero and energy management. Initially with the PU, as it’s all so new, there is – not necessarily more to gain, but a lot more to lose if you don’t do well.
“To understand how it works and how to maximize that will probably be the most important part. After a certain time, when drivers, teams and also power unit suppliers learn more about this new way of racing, then gradually the performance on the energy side will converge between competitors. The main differentiator will then go back to being on the aero side, but I think initially, managing that energy side will be critical this year.”
Here’s Haas showcasing its F1 2026 livery
Here’s Oliver Bearman on no talks with Ferrari