Haas moves F1 2026 launch date after unforeseen development

The Haas Formula 1 team will unveil its challenger for the 2026 season on 19 January, instead of 23 January as initially planned.

Haas announced its intention to reveal the new VF-26 that day in early December, shortly after Alpine officially scheduled a season launch that same day, but Ferrari went on to announce it would unveil its new car on 23 January too.

Haas has therefore decided to switch to 19 January “to avoid over-congestion of team launches” on the original date, a spokesperson for the team stated.

The VF-26 will first appear as digital renders and video. It will be powered by Ferrari like every Haas car in history, and driven by Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman again after both racers joined the squad full-time last year.

2026 will mark a new era for Haas as its technical partnership with Toyota is upgraded to title sponsor status. The outfit, which finished eighth in last year’s constructors’ championship, was previously sponsored by currency transfer company MoneyGram.

Pre-season testing gets under way at Barcelona from 26-30 January.

2026 F1 team launch schedule

Date	Team(s)	Location	Car reveal?
15 January	Red Bull Racing Bulls	Detroit, Michigan	Livery only
19 January	Haas	Online	2026 car
20 January	Audi	Berlin	Livery only
20 January	Honda	Tokyo	Power unit only
22 January	Mercedes	Online	Livery only
23 January	Alpine	Barcelona	TBC
23 January	Ferrari	Fiorano	2026 car
2 February	Mercedes	TBC	2026 car
3 February	Williams	TBC	Livery only
8 February	Cadillac	Super Bowl advert	Livery only
9 February	Aston Martin	TBC	2026 car