Lights OutMediaHaas confirmed on November 3 that Esteban Ocon will not return to a race seat this season. Replacing him will be 21-year-old Rafael Camara, who will make his F1 debut this Friday at São Paulo, his home race, alongside Ollie Bearman. Talk about a debut.
Camara is Brazilian, and has been a Ferrari junior since 2021. He won the 2024 Formula Regional European title and the 2025 F3 title. He currently leads the F2 championship with 207 points, 7 points ahead of Nikola Tsolov on 200, with the Qatar and Abu Dhabi rounds still in play.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said Haas had “notified Esteban Ocon that he will not return to a race seat” this season. He said the conversations with Ocon “remain an internal matter.” In a Canal+ interview on November 2, Komatsu said he made the call to take Ocon out of the Mexico City weekend himself. Gene Haas was consulted, but the decision was Komatsu’s. He said it was the right call for the team, considering all the factors. Haas hasn’t given a specific reason for why Ocon has been replaced.
Ocon was already leaving Haas at the end of the 2026 season. Haas had already signed Camara on a multi-year deal for 2027. So the only real change is the timing: his debut has been moved up from 2027 to this weekend.
Whatever the reasons, all eyes are on Interlagos. A Brazilian rookie is making his F1 debut in front of his home crowd. With no sprint this year, he gets three practice sessions to find his feet before qualifying. Talk about pressure.
One thing is certain: he won’t be short of support in the grandstands, and neither will Bortoleto.