190-race F1 team still dealing with worrying porpoising ‘problem’ heading into the Australian Grand Prix

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The Australian Grand Prix marks the start of what is shaping up to be one of F1’s most exciting seasons ever.

Max Verstappen is looking to become only the second driver after Michael Schumacher to win five consecutive titles in 2025. But the Dutchman will face immense competition from McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes with his Red Bull no longer being the strongest car.

McLaren are the clear favourites after pre-season testing with many in the paddock feeling the Woking-based outfit have pulled away from their rivals.

Helmut Marko thinks McLaren are two tenths ahead going into the Australian Grand Prix. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will look to capitalise on the MCL39’s performance and get off to a winning start.

The 2025 season is set to see intense battles in the midfield as well as at the front. Williams and Alpine have taken steps forward and could even mount a challenge to the top four on occasion.

But while some teams are feeling optimistic about the year ahead, there is some question marks over others. One team that could be in trouble is Haas after a somewhat disappointing pre-season.

Ayao Komatsu admits Haas are still facing porpoising ‘problem’ heading into the Australian Grand Prix

Under the guidance of Ayao Komatsu, the American outfit made huge improvements on track in 2024 as they finished seventh in the constructors’ championship. They are looking to build on that in 2025 – their 10th season in F1.

After 190 races in the sport, Komatsu has made Haas profitable for the first time in their history. With Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman on board for 2025, they have a strong driver pairing capable of scoring regular points – but the VF-25 has raised some concerns.

Bearman was left ‘disappointed’ in Bahrain after he could not complete any qualifying runs. A piece of bodywork on the engine cover flew off his car on day three.

Ocon set the team’s fastest time that day but it was 1.1 seconds off pacesetter George Russell. Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas ‘publicly’ expressed his concern for Haas after testing – and Komatsu has found a worrying ‘problem’ with their 2025 challenger.

Writing in his column for Japanese publication Autosport Web, the Haas boss discussed how he tried to overcome the ‘challenges in medium and high-speed corners’ from last year’s car with the VF-25. However, it still has a porpoising issue that is ‘difficult to prevent’ from happening.

Komatusu wrote: “Well, this year, first of all, the pre-season test is over. As a frank impression, I don’t think the quality of the VF-25 is not bad.

“Last year’s VF-24 had good characteristics, so while maintaining them, I made a car with the goal of overcoming the challenges in medium and high-speed corners due to lack of downforce.

“It was a difficult task, so the characteristics of the car may have dropped a little, but the absolute amount of downforce is increasing. That’s where the problem is porpoising (bouncing), but it’s also difficult to prevent this from happening.”

Esteban Ocon’s warning to Oliver Bearman ahead of 2025 season opener in Melbourne

Haas will be hopeful they can fine-tune the problem over the course of the season. The team have a talented driver pairing they will want to exploit to extract top performance.

Bearman is already proven with Haas from his impressive cameo appearances in 2024 while Ocon will be motivated by taking on a new challenge after leaving Alpine. But the duo will be put under pressure.

Komatsu slammed Bearman’s performance in Sao Paulo last year, labelling it as ‘not good enough’. He spun off twice in the rain-soaked conditions but managed to bring the car home in P12.

Ocon has told Bearman to enjoy his first full season in F1, warning him he will ‘regret’ it if he does not take the advice. The Brit will want to make an impression in 2025, but his car’s problems may be costly if they are not fixed urgently.