Why only Oliver Bearman has the new Ferrari F1 engine at Haas? A story of fairness and strategy in the heart of Monza

Ayao Komatsu hides nothing. When I met him at Monza, amidst the roar of Ferrari engines on the fastest circuit on the F1 calendar, Haas's team principal was so frank it caught me off guard. "There's no point in bullshitting," Komatsu said, his eyes unwavering. And he told the truth: only one Haas car would be equipped with Ferrari's second power unit upgrade of the season. That car belonged to Oliver Bearman. Esteban Ocon, the more experienced teammate, would have to fight with the older engine at a circuit where power is king. Numbers never lie. Bearman leads Ocon 18-3 in the drivers' championship. But Komatsu didn't cite points as his sole reason. He recounted the team's entire upgrade history this season. In Montreal, Ocon received the brake upgrade first. In Budapest, Ocon got priority on the power steering system because he was more vocal about struggling with it. "We operate in a transparent, as fair manner as possible," Komatsu explained. "We don't have any hidden agenda." This is the second time Ferrari has deployed a power unit upgrade in the 2026 season, via the ADUO mechanism — Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities. Monza is the most power-sensitive circuit on the F1 calendar, where long straights turn an engine advantage into tenths of a second per lap. Ferrari wanted the upgrade at its home race, both for competitive advantage and brand narrative. But they produced only the minimum quantity — one unit for each customer team, Haas and Cadillac. Enough to comply with regulations, nothing more. Komatsu acknowledged the helplessness of a customer team. "It would have been better if two engines are available at least," he said, a soft statement carrying deep frustration with F1's power structure. Haas does not control its own engine development schedule. Ferrari decides the timing and quantity. Haas can only accept and allocate. And Komatsu allocated based on three criteria: championship position, recent upgrade history, and specific driver needs. Bearman got the new engine because Ocon had received two upgrades earlier. Simple, logical, and entirely explainable. "This is the best for the team, and this is the fairest way," Komatsu asserted. But fairness in F1 is never absolute. Ocon won't be happy, Komatsu admitted. And that is the biggest risk of this decision. A driver who feels structurally disadvantaged can lose motivation, reduce technical feedback quality, or worse — seek an exit door for the 2026 season. With only 3 points halfway through the season, Ocon is in a weaker position for future negotiations. And Bearman, a Ferrari Driver Academy product with works-team backing, is increasingly cementing his priority status at Haas. Komatsu's strategy is an investment in long-term trust. By explaining every decision transparently, he builds a team culture — where drivers know they won't be treated arbitrarily. "That kind of trust doesn't happen overnight," he said. But trust is fragile. If Bearman's new engine fails at Monza — an inherent risk of any mid-season upgrade — this decision will face the harshest scrutiny. And even if everything goes perfectly, the engine disparity between the two Haas cars creates a subtle data problem. Any comparison between Bearman and Ocon at Monza is confounded by the technical variable. Haas must be careful not to draw false conclusions about driver performance from a weekend where the cars are not technically equal. When the stadium is empty, the cash flow is the only player left on the field. But at Monza this weekend, the flow of power and money runs in one direction. Bearman has the advantage. Ocon has the disappointment. And Komatsu faces a test of faith — can transparency hold a midfield team together in an F1 world where fairness is merely a relative concept? The answer will be written on Monza's long straights, where Ferrari's second power unit upgrade of the season will roar — on just one car, for just one driver. And that is all the regulations allow.