F1 team reveal driver BAN

An F1 team have revealed a ban for their drivers as their rivals prepare for the regulation changes next season.

From 2026, new regulations are sweeping into the sport, with engines becoming 50 per cent electric, and car chassis' also seeing huge changes compared to the current generation of cars, which have been in place since 2022.

It means that some teams may be able to make a big step forward next year, and midfield teams have been working hard to try and ensure that it's them who propel themselves into podium-challenging contention in 2026.

That has meant for many teams switching their attention away from the current 2025 season and throwing all their efforts into mastering the 2026 regulation changes.

Williams, for example, admitted being fully focused on their 2026 car staggeringly early, while Sauber and Cadillac have both been seen in recent weeks testing their new concept in the simulator.

But Haas have decided to take a different approach and have banned their drivers from testing the new concept.

The team have confirmed that neither Esteban Ocon nor Ollie Bearman will be testing their 2026 car in the simulator until after the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

That means that the two drivers will only get a few weeks of virtual testing before the first in-person session of an extended testing programme for 2026 takes place in Barcelona.

Why are Haas not testing 2026 car until December?

The decision, according to team principal Ayao Komatsu, is because any testing now may not be relevant by the time December rolls around, due to the ever-changing concepts as teams scramble to find the best answer to F1's new rules.

On top of this, Komatsu believes that there are still plenty of positions to be made up in this year's constructors' championship, which could make a big difference in terms of prize money.

Haas currently sit ninth in the standings, but are only 26 points behind sixth-place Racing Bulls, in a tight midfield battle.

Due to their close relationship with Ferrari, Haas also share the Maranello-based outfit's simulator, not having their own private simulator, meaning they have to pick and choose which days to rent the simulator around Ferrari's own schedule.

"It was a deliberate choice," Komatsu said via Motorsport.com.

"You know, looking at who we are, our constraints and all that. But the thing is, we're doing a lot of development without using simulator drivers. And so far, things are progressing quite a bit. Progressing in the sense that they're changing a lot.

"So we didn't want to bring a driver in too early and then force him to train in a certain scenario that, a month or two later, would be completely different. That would be a waste of time.

"Obviously, the midfield battle is so tight this year that we wanted them to focus on that. After Abu Dhabi, the car will be finalised, so we preferred to do it this way."

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