Could Jack Doohan’s performance in a Haas test this week give team boss Ayao Komatsu cause for consideration, as a driver decision for F1 2027 needs to be made?

Doohan joined Haas as a reserve driver ahead of the F1 2026 season after parting ways with Alpine at the end of last year, and climbed back into an F1 car for the first time since splitting from Enstone when he took part in a Haas test at Jerez this week.

Jack Doohan thanks Haas F1 team after TPC outing at Jerez

The Australian, son of Australian motorcycling legend Mick Doohan, took part in a TPC (Testing of Previous Car) outing at the Jerez circuit earlier this week, driving the 2026 VF-25.

Doohan split driving duties with Toyota-backed WEC driver Ryo Hirakawa and 2024 Super Formula title winner Sho Tsuboi at the Spanish venue, with the outing being his first in an F1 car since taking part in the 2025 Miami Grand Prix with Alpine.

Haas’s latest TPC run came on the back of another test at Portimao in Portugal, where Ferrari junior Rafael Camara and McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli tested along with Hirakawa.

Haas is yet to finalise its driver lineup for the F1 2027 season amid lingering uncertainty over Esteban Ocon’s seat, with the French driver still a contender to hold onto his seat against the external challengers.

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As reported by PlanetF1.com at last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, Camara was understood to have made the biggest impression on Haas during the first TPC test in Portugal, with the 21-year-old Brazilian said to be the leading candidate at this stage if Ocon is dropped; his case is strengthened by the fact that Ferrari is said to be eager to land its academy driver with a seat in F1.

But Doohan’s performance during the TPC test can be viewed as an assessment, and the situation following the outing is understood to be that the Australian can’t be ruled out of consideration if Komatsu is only looking for outright performance.

In a post on social media on Saturday, Doohan expressed his gratitude to Haas following his return to an F1 cockpit at Jerez.

He wrote: “Incredible feeling to be back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, massive thank you to the whole Haas F1 team.”

Doohan’s comment comes after Ayao Komatsu, the Haas team principal, refused to put a firm timeline on the team’s decision for 2027.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other media outlets, Komatsu insisted that driver performance will be the primary factor behind Haas’s choice of Oliver Bearman’s teammate for the F1 2027 campaign.

However, Komatsu added that sponsorship and other commercial factors are likely to come into play if the performances of the drivers under consideration are relatively even.

He said: “I’ve always said we take drivers by performance, so performance comes absolutely first.

“If two drivers have got equal performance, affiliations or the packages they’ve got matter.

“But we never take somebody who is three tenths slower, but who has got affiliations with Toyota or Ferrari, or got five million more [in sponsorship].

“We’re not going to do that, so it’s all about performance first.

“If it’s within tenths, for instance – or very, very close – then the affiliation package does come into play for sure. I think we can choose by performance.”

Pressed on a timeline for a decision, he added: “I don’t know. Not next week, shall I say.

“I think we’re in a very fortunate situation. There are so many drivers interested in our seat, really.”

Additional reporting by Oliver Harden

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