Haas closes in on 2027 decision as Ocon faces decisive test – Esteban Ocon’s Haas future is approaching a decisive moment, with the American team set to complete another TPC test at Jerez before deciding who will partner Oliver Bearman in 2027. Rafael Câmara has emerged as a leading contender, while Jack Doohan will get another opportunity to impress Haas management.
Haas is entering the final stage of its evaluation for the team’s 2027 Formula 1 driver lineup. According to RacingNews365, the American outfit will conduct a further Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) session at Jerez before making a decision on the second race seat.
Oliver Bearman is widely expected to remain with Haas for a third consecutive season. The uncertainty surrounds the seat currently occupied by Esteban Ocon, who joined the team from Alpine for the 2025 campaign.
Ocon remains one of the candidates for the seat, but his position is now clearly under consideration alongside several alternatives.
Câmara emerges as leading contender
RacingNews365 reports that Rafael Câmara has emerged as one of the strongest candidates after impressing during Haas’ recent TPC running at Portimão.
The Ferrari junior was tested alongside Ryo Hirakawa and Leonardo Fornaroli, with Bearman providing a benchmark. Brazilian outlet GE Globo subsequently reported that Câmara outperformed Bearman during the Portimão evaluation and impressed Haas engineers with both his speed and feedback.
However, Câmara will not be part of the upcoming Jerez test. Instead, Haas will evaluate reserve driver Jack Doohan alongside Hirakawa and Sho Tsuboi.
Doohan, who previously raced for Alpine, has already made seven Grand Prix starts and returned to the Formula 1 environment as a Haas reserve driver in 2026. His Jerez running gives him another opportunity to strengthen his case for a return to a full-time race seat.
Ocon confirms Haas negotiations
Ocon has acknowledged that discussions over his future with Haas are now taking place, although he has rejected suggestions that his position has already been decided.
“Yes, naturally we have been holding talks about the future over the past few weeks,” he told the media in Madrid.
“I have been convinced since 2025 to bring Ayao to this project, and naturally the initial discussions with this team need to take place, and they are taking place now.”
The Frenchman also stressed that Haas is entitled to evaluate alternative drivers through its TPC programme.
He insisted that the team’s current drivers are not responsible for its difficulties this season.
“We are all pushing in the same direction to get more out of the car,” said Ocon. He added that both he and Bearman perform when the car gives them the opportunity to do so.
Performance gap adds pressure
Ocon’s situation has nevertheless become more complicated because of his points deficit to Bearman. The Frenchman currently has three points, compared with 18 for his younger teammate, although Ocon has pointed to the inconsistent performance of Haas’ VF-26 as a contributing factor.
“This is something we have had to deal with so far this season,” he stated.
“Both Ollie and I are very aware of that,” said Ocon. He explained that Bearman had a car capable of delivering the expected performance recently, while his own Haas had encountered difficulties.
In Budapest, Ocon said, the situation had been reversed.
The Frenchman also highlighted Haas’ recent progress, including three consecutive Q2 appearances.
“Of course it’s not a Q3, but I got the maximum out of the car,” he said. “There was nothing left on the table, so it is not the desired result.”
Haas decision approaches
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has confirmed that five drivers are competing for the one available 2027 seat: Ocon, Câmara, Doohan, Hirakawa and Fornaroli. Bearman is not part of that contest.
The upcoming Jerez test therefore represents another important stage in Haas’ evaluation process.
RacingNews365 reports that no final decision will be made until after the Jerez TPC test, meaning Ocon’s future remains unresolved for now.
Câmara’s strong Portimão performance has placed him firmly in contention, but Doohan will have his own opportunity in Jerez. Haas must then decide whether to retain the experience of Ocon or make a change for 2027.
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Camara has been the leading successor option at least since Alessio Auriemma published an exclusive about him over two months ago, similar to what he published about Lindblad in July last year, & he’s the very first to report about his Vcarb drive in advance.
AMuS & Lawrence Barretto have also referred to him at Haas & earlier today, I saw a reference gathered through multiple sources that he’s deal is 90% done with an annoucement to be expected on the Sao Paulo GP weekend.
While I’d seen mentions that he impressed in the Algarve test, I hadn’t realized that he out-performed even Ollie.
Regarding Ocon, the points gap should once again be ignored because it doesn’t reflect the big picture at all since it’s solely down to factors beyond his control in the early-season phase & subsequently the whole team has been regularly struggling; hence, Ollie has equally been finishing well outside Q3 & points, not to mention that Ocon has also been out-performing him, & finished close to both Q3 & points in the last round, while Ollie threw away his chances for any higher positions with his costly unforced error in FP3.
Therefore, Ocon getting replaced by Camara would be about the team’s medium to longer term prospects rather than himself, although at least Camara would be an upgrade, unlike Doohan & Hirakawa (or Tsunoda, for that matter).