After a seventh-place finish in the Formula 1 season opener in Australia, Haas recorded another strong result early in the season in Shanghai. Oliver Bearman managed to reach Q3 on Saturday, although he ultimately had to settle for tenth place on the grid.
On Sunday, however, there was even more potential. While two of the four traditional top teams – McLaren and Red Bull – hit trouble, Haas managed to surprise. Bearman moved up to fifth place and therefore emerged as best of the rest behind Mercedes and Ferrari.
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“It’s incredible. I always said we have to focus on the basics and we have to maximise everything. In the early part of the season, reliability would be an issue, so we just have to be there,” Ayao Komatsu told Autosport in an exclusive interview after the race.
“We cannot beat top four teams or top three teams now. Well, we beat Red Bull on merit today, so we were the fourth fastest team today, which is incredible. The unfortunate thing for McLaren was that they couldn’t take the race. We were there to take the benefit, so we just maximised everything. I’m just so happy.”
Perhaps the most telling phase of the race came when Max Verstappen spent several laps stuck around 2.5 seconds behind Bearman. It said a lot about the problems Red Bull was facing in China – including graining – but also about Haas’ surprisingly strong race pace.
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Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team
Ayao Komatsu, Haas F1 Team
“When I looked at FP1, Red Bull didn’t look amazing. But based on the sprint, I wasn’t sure if we had the pace to really fight Red Bull or not. But the sprint is a sprint, right? It’s quite short. But whatever it was, we had a decent pace [on Sunday] and our drivers managed it so well.”
Even better than expected after winter testing
In a sense, Haas’ performance looks in line with the promising early signs during winter testing. After two weeks of running in Bahrain, many in the paddock pointed to Haas and Alpine as the teams leading the midfield, although Racing Bulls and Audi managed to get surprisingly close in Melbourne.
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In Shanghai, however, Haas and Alpine had an edge over the rest of the midfield, with a gap of around 20 seconds to the also surprisingly strong Liam Lawson.
“To be honest, this looks even better than Bahrain. Coming out of Bahrain test, I didn’t think we could fight Red Bull at all, and also Alpine looked really quick,” Komatsu reacted.
“Again, Gasly proved that they are quick, but we’ve beaten them on merit. It’s just brilliant how such a team works. Every single execution, we’ve done it very, very well, apart from the pitstop for Esteban.”
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Without that moment for the Frenchman, Komatsu believes Haas could even have secured a double points finish, although the American team can still look back on a very strong start to the season with seventeen points from the first two race weekends.
After the opening two race weekends, the still-smallest team on the grid occupies fourth place in the constructors’ championship – ahead of Red Bull.
To read more from Autosport’s exclusive interview with Ayao Komatsu, head here.
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Photos from Chinese GP – Sunday
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Alexander Albon, Williams, Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Alexander Albon, Williams, Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images
Alexandra Leclerc and Carmen Montero Mundt walk in the paddock.
Alexandra Leclerc and Carmen Montero Mundt walk in the paddock.
Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi F1 Team
Kym Illman / Getty Images
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Muni He walks in the paddock.
Muni He walks in the paddock.
Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Gene Haas, Founder and Chairman of Haas F1
Gene Haas, Founder and Chairman of Haas F1
Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
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George Russell, Mercedes, Alexander Albon, Williams
George Russell, Mercedes, Alexander Albon, Williams
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Fans of Lewis Hamilton
Fans of Lewis Hamilton
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Greg Baker – AFP – Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes, Alexander Albon, Williams
George Russell, Mercedes, Alexander Albon, Williams
Lars Baron / Getty Images
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Lars Baron / Getty Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls
Dom Gibbons / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lars Baron / Getty Images
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Pierre Gasly, Alpine
Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing
Mark Thompson / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Mark Thompson / Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Start action
Start action
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Carlos Sainz, Williams
Carlos Sainz, Williams
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Sona Maleterova / Getty Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Lintao Zhang / LAT Images via Getty Images
Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
Pierre Gasly, Alpine, Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine crash
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine crash
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine crash
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine crash
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine
Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Sona Maleterova / Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Sona Maleterova / Getty Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Lars Baron / Getty Images
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Mark Thompson / Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lars Baron / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lars Baron / Getty Images
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lars Baron / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Mark Sutton / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
Read Also:
“I’m lucky to be here” – Oliver Bearman avoided “monster shunt” with out-of-control Isack Hadjar
Fans told ‘don’t send death threats’ as Esteban Ocon apologises for Franco Colapinto clash
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