Haas completes shakedown with 2026 F1 car ahead of opening test

Haas has become the latest team to shake down its 2026 Formula 1 car, as the grid makes their final preparations for the first official test under the new regulations.

F1 sophomore Oliver Bearman turned the first laps in the Haas VF-26 at Ferrari’s Fiorano circuit on Saturday, running Pirelli’s special demonstration tyres as part of the team’s filming allocation.

In a short social media post, the American outfit shared an image of Bearman exiting the garage at Fiorano with the caption, ‘The VF-26 is alive’.

The shakedown also marked the first time Haas revealed real images of its 2026 contender, having previously shown only digital renders of the cars during an online launch on 19 January.

Haas’ run followed just a day after Ferrari took the SF-26 to the same venue on Friday for a ‘demonstration event’, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc splitting the running between them. 

Haas has a long partnership with Ferrari in F1 and it will continue to run the Italian manufacturer’s engines this year, when the new rule cycle mandates a near 50/50 split between power generated by the internal combustion system and the hybrid unit.

However, 2026 is also significant for Haas in another way, as it expanded its partnership with Toyota, which has now become its title sponsor. The VF-26 driven by Bearman at Fiorano carried significant branding from Toyota Gazoo Racing on the front wing and the engine cover.

With the shakedown complete, seven of the 11 teams on the grid have run their 2026 cars in some form: Audi, Cadillac, Alpine, Mercedes, Racing Bulls, Ferrari and now Haas.

Only Williams, Red Bull, Aston Martin and reigning champion McLaren are still to carry out their first on-track outings of the year.

Of those, Williams appears to be the furthest behind schedule, having already announced it will not take part in the Barcelona test week.

Barring any other unforeseen circumstances, the remaining 10 teams are expected to travel to Spain for the Barcelona test from 26-30 January. While the track is booked for five days, each team can only select three days to run their 2026 cars.

Haas has already indicated that the specification it brings to Barcelona will not be identical to the one it races at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March, pointing to an aggressive early development programme for the VF-26.