Rafael Camara Signs for Haas as Ocon's 2027 Replacement

Haas has chosen its next Formula 1 driver. The team confirmed on 15 October that Rafael Camara, the 21-year-old Brazilian from Ferrari’s young driver programme, will race for it from 2027 on a multi-year contract. Camara replaces Esteban Ocon, whose departure at the end of 2026 was confirmed in September after two seasons with the team. He becomes the first rookie confirmed for the 2027 grid.

The decision had been expected for some time, but it still represents a significant moment for Camara, for Haas and for Brazil. With Gabriel Bortoleto continuing at Audi, The Star reported that Brazil will have at least two drivers on the Formula 1 grid in 2027 for the first time since 2016.

Camara’s record

Camara has won at almost every level he has raced. He joined the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2021, won the Formula Regional European Championship in 2024 and then took the 2025 Formula 3 title in his rookie season. In 2026 he stepped up to Formula 2 and immediately became the championship leader.

• 2021: joined the Ferrari Driver Academy.
• 2024: Formula Regional European champion.
• 2025: Formula 3 champion as a rookie.
• 2026: leads Formula 2 with three feature race wins, seven points clear of Nikola Tsolov.
• Five F2 pole positions, the most by a rookie since Oscar Piastri in 2021, according to Crash.net.

If he completes the job in Formula 2, he would follow Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Piastri in winning back-to-back titles in F1’s two main feeder series. The Star added that it would make him the first driver since Piastri to win consecutive Formula Regional, F3 and F2 crowns. The final two F2 rounds are scheduled for Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the same venues that close the Formula 1 season.

How Haas made its choice

Haas evaluated four candidates for the seat. According to The Star, they were Camara, reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, and Haas reserve drivers Jack Doohan and Ryo Hirakawa. Camara impressed in an August test at Portimao in Portugal, driving the team’s 2025 car, and team principal Ayao Komatsu made it clear what tipped the balance. “He showed incredible speed. That was the fully overriding factor,” Komatsu said.

Komatsu told Crash.net he was “really excited to sign such a young, amazing talent”, pointing to Camara’s qualifying speed in difficult moments such as Monaco and Montreal and to his performances in Haas’s testing of previous cars programme. Team owner Gene Haas said the team was looking forward to “growing our relationship full-time next season”, noting that Camara’s path through the junior categories and the Ferrari Academy mirrored that of Oliver Bearman.

Camara himself was grateful and realistic. “It’s an important step in my career and I want to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for the trust they have placed in me,” he said, adding that there would be “a lot to learn” as he makes the jump to Formula 1.

Bearman and the all-Ferrari academy line-up

Haas has not yet formally confirmed Bearman for 2027, but Komatsu left little doubt. “It is our intention to continue with Ollie. It is just a matter of timing and finalising certain details,” he said, as quoted by The Star. If that deal is completed, Haas will field two Ferrari academy graduates next year, which inevitably revives the debate over how close the American team is to Maranello.

• Haas 2027: Camara confirmed, Bearman expected but not yet announced.
• Ocon: leaves Haas at the end of 2026 without a confirmed 2027 drive.
• Fornaroli, Doohan and Hirakawa: considered but not selected.
• Brazil 2027: Camara and Bortoleto both on the grid.

Crash.net noted that Ocon has been left without a Formula 1 drive for 2027, and the Frenchman’s next step was not clear at the time of the announcement. He had struggled to match Bearman over their time together, according to The Star, which made the decision to change one seat easier for Haas.

Analysis: a bet on raw speed

Haas has made this kind of call before. Bearman arrived as a young Ferrari junior and has grown into the team’s reference driver. Camara follows the same route, with an even stronger junior record. Komatsu’s comments show the team prioritised outright pace over experience, which makes sense for a small team that needs drivers capable of extracting rare big results.

The risk is that a rookie line-up with limited Formula 1 mileage can struggle with car development and consistency. But Haas will have a settled second driver in Bearman if his extension goes through, and Camara has had a full year of exposure to the team through testing. Over the coming months his task is simple to describe and hard to execute: finish the Formula 2 title, then hit the ground running in 2027.

The selection process itself said a lot about how Haas now operates. Rather than simply taking the most experienced driver available, the team ran a structured evaluation, used its testing of previous cars programme to compare candidates and made speed the decisive factor. Fornaroli arrived as the reigning Formula 2 champion and Doohan already had Grand Prix experience, yet neither could match the impression Camara made in the car at Portimao.

Camara’s rookie Formula 2 season has also been an unusually complete one. Five pole positions point to raw one-lap pace, three feature race wins show he can manage tyres over longer distances, and leading the championship in his first year at that level demonstrates consistency. Those are exactly the qualities a team looks for when it promotes a driver straight from the junior categories into a race seat.

For Ferrari, the signing also places another academy graduate in a race seat, giving Maranello more options when it eventually needs a successor for one of its own drivers. That longer-term picture may prove just as important as the immediate change at Haas.

How to read the next chapter

The important distinction in Rafael Camara Signs for Haas as Ocon's 2027 Replacement is between a single headline moment and a repeatable advantage. A qualifying lap, sprint, race result or technical announcement answers a narrow question at a particular point in a weekend. It does not automatically settle how the car will perform on another circuit or under a different tyre and weather combination. Readers should compare the relevant session times, official classifications and any penalties before drawing a larger conclusion. A track position gained through a rival's problem is still valuable, but it is different evidence from an overtake made on equal tyres and clean air.