Haas wants to use its 200th Grand Prix to make a splash in Canada

The American team is hoping for a remarkable result to celebrate its 15th Formula 200 race on Sunday, June 1.

Published 11/06/2025 à 14:01

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Haas wants to use its 200th Grand Prix to make a splash in Canada

Florent Gooden / DPPI

Seventh in the constructors' championship, two points behind Racing Bulls, Haas started 2025 a notch below its end of 2024. For its tenth season in the paddock F1, the American team probably engages the best driver duo in its history with the rookie Oliver Bearman and the Frenchman Esteban OconIn this context, the Canadian Grand Prix will mark the 200^th the team's first race in F1, an anniversary that the team aims to celebrate with its performances.

"It's like we celebrated our hundredth race not so long ago. Few new teams survive more than two seasons, and instead disappear without scoring any points.", contextualizes Ayao Komatsu, team principal of the stable. It's hard to find the words: it's an important step but we are still in this project of improving the team, so it's also a race among many others."

After six seasons in the garage Renault and Alpine, Esteban Ocon is now thriving in his new challenge at Haas: "I'm proud to be able to experience this moment in the team's history and I hope we can make it a memorable weekend." Oliver Bearman is also discovering a new environment within the American team, and seems delighted to discover Formula 1 in such a context despite the difficulties: "I'm so proud to be a driver for this team. A lot of good things are happening and you can see everyone's passion and dedication to achieve more."

Ocon in familiar territory, Bearman in unfamiliar territory, but the same level of motivation

The driver duo approach this weekend with polar opposite levels of experience. Esteban Ocon has finished in the points at every Canadian Grand Prix he has competed in, with sixth-place finishes in 2017 and 2022 being his best results. “The track is great to ride, with its series of tricky turns between tight walls.”, analyzes the Frenchman.

The difficulty of the track does not scare his teammate, who was looking forward to this time of year: "The circuit has a lot of chicanes, so you have to constantly anticipate what's coming. It takes a lot of energy to put everything together on a lap here.", explains Bearman. Ever since I saw Jenson Button win in 2011 in crazy conditions, I've always wanted to race here."

Perhaps the changing weather conditions will help Haas score points to celebrate its 200th^thEven on a regular basis, Ayao Komatsu remains confident about his team's hopes given his recent performances: "At the moment the hierarchy is constantly changing so it's difficult to position yourself, but I know the improvements we made at Imola are working for us."