Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship\u2122 LIVE in 4K.<\/a><\/p>\nDoohan, who has been a Haas reserve driver this season, emerged late as a leading candidate, having impressed in a private test last month.<\/p>\n
Fellow reserve driver Ry\u014d Hirakawa, the sports car driver backed by title partner Toyota, was also in the mix, as was McLaren development driver and reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli, both of whom also undertook private testing.<\/p>\n
Former Red Bull Racing driver Yuki Tsunoda is also believed to have been in the frame, having been briefly considered as Ocon\u2019s replacement as early as the end of last season before Haas committed the Frenchman for one more campaign.<\/p>\n
The decision eventually boiled down to C\u00e2mara and Doohan, but the Brazilian won out for having been quicker in his test and the more complete package.<\/p>\n
C\u00e2mara is leading the Formula 2 championship and is on track to repeat Oscar Piastri\u2019s feat of winning three consecutive junior titles, having won last year\u2019s F3 championship one year after being crowned in the Formula Regional European Championship.<\/p>\n
He is also backed by Ferrari, with which Haas shares a close technical relationship, including as an engine customer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always said we\u2019re going to choose drivers by performance, and then through those evaluations Rafa just showed incredible speed and feel, so that was the fully overriding factor above everything else,\u201d Haas principal Ayao Komatsu said, per Racer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a good relationship with Ferrari, but that just means that gives us the access to [Ferrari junior] drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving that relationship with Ferrari gave us the chance to have access to Rafa, and then in the Portimao [test] , he was just simply outstanding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really wanted to go for someone who\u2019s got this natural speed and feeling, because that\u2019s something you cannot teach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking last month, before the decision had been made \u2014 and before Doohan\u2019s test \u2014 Komatsu emphasised that commercial factors would come into play only if two drivers were equal in performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s within 0.1s, for instance \u2014 very, very close \u2014 then affiliation package does come into play for sure,\u201d he said. \u201cWe really want two fast drivers because that\u2019s the best way to grow this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Confirmation of Haas\u2019s line-up means only Racing Bulls is uncommitted for next season, though the Red Bull junior team is widely tipped to retain both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad after strong campaigns from both drivers.<\/p>\n
Kostecki speaks on famous Bathurst win | 02:27<\/p>\n
UNLUCKY DOOHAN\u2019S BAD TIMING<\/p>\n
The decision ends Doohan\u2019s Formula 1 hopes for 2027 and perhaps permanently, with the Australian facing a fourth season off the grid since finishing third in the 2023 Formula 2 championship.<\/p>\n
If this is to be the end of the grand prix road for him, his path will have been one of misfortune and helplessly bad timing.<\/p>\n
Doohan, the son of five-time 500c motorcycle champion Mick Doohan, defected from the Red Bull junior driver program for its Alpine equivalent because of its closer ties to the F1 team in 2002, and by 2023 he was Alpine\u2019s reserve driver after a strong rookie F2 campaign.<\/p>\n
Doohan was tipped as a championship contender for his second season, but the early part of his campaign was hamstrung by a broken car. It took the team several rounds to listen to his feedback and identify the problem, and though it precipitated a late comeback, it was too late for him to finish higher than third.<\/p>\n
With nothing left to prove in Formula 2, Doohan contemplated various opportunities to race outside the F1 ladder, but Alpine requested that he commit to the reserve role full-time in 2024. With his heart set on Formula 1, he followed the advice and integrated himself into the team in the hope of creating his F1 debut chance.<\/p>\n
The opportunity came in the final round of 2024, when Haas-bound Ocon was unexpectedly dropped, giving Doohan a running start for what was to be his first full-time season in 2025.<\/p>\n
But during the off-season Alpine signed Williams junior Franco Colapinto as its reserve driver. Though the team denied anything untoward, Williams boss James Vowles said Colapinto had been loaned because he <\/p>\n
By the time the season started, rumours were rife that Doohan\u2019s career was already on the clock, with Colapinto apparently promised a switch by the European campaign.<\/p>\n
They were poor circumstances for the rookie, who had to find his feet alongside the experienced Pierre Gasly in a car that would finish dead last in the championship by the biggest margin in the sport\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
Doohan did himself no favours with some crashes, the biggest of which was in Japan, where he left his DRS open into the first turn and immediately spun heavily into the barriers during practice \u2014 though he did so because the car had been able to take it in the simulator.<\/p>\n
But his fate seemed sealed either way, and he was replaced just six rounds into the season following the Miami Grand Prix \u2014 ironically after outqualifying Gasly for the first time that year.<\/p>\n
He was reportedly dangled the carrot of return through the year, variously reported as being based on Colapinto\u2019s performance and on his ability to find additional sponsorship, but the team eventually decided to double-down on the Argentine for another season.<\/p>\n
Doohan instead jumped ship to Haas as a reserve driver, astutely identifying Ocon\u2019s seat as the most vulnerable of the impending silly season.<\/p>\n
As it turned out, the Australian was sufficiently impressive that he could have been a shoo-in for the drive had this season not also coincided with culmination of C\u00e2mara\u2019s impressive junior career in yet another case of unlucky timing.<\/p>\n
He was in the right place, as predicted, but at the wrong time.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Fox Sports earlier this year, Doohan said Formula 1 was no longer \u201cthe be-all and end-all\u201d for him, with his focus changing slightly this year to establishing a professional racing career after so many seasons on the bench.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear whether he will continue circling Formula 1 in an increasingly long-odds bid to make it onto the grid.<\/p>\n
Ferrari team boss goes in on Hamilton | 00:39<\/p>\n
WHAT ABOUT C\u00c2MARA AND BEARMAN?<\/p>\n
Though Bearman has yet to be confirmed, Komatsu said it\u2019s \u201cjust a matter of timing … of finalising certain details\u201d, with an announcement to come \u201cin due course\u201d.<\/p>\n
Komatsu has already denied that fielding two Ferrari junior drivers would make Haas the de facto Ferrari junior team, but there\u2019s no doubt this line-up is highly beneficial for the Italian brand.<\/p>\n
With Charles Leclerc locked down for the long term and Lewis Hamilton showing no real inclination to retire now that he\u2019s rediscovered good form, Ferrari faced the prospect of allowing Bearman, the driver next in line, to wither on the vine or potentially defect to a rival frontrunning team.<\/p>\n
The Englishman himself said earlier this year that he couldn\u2019t wait forever for Ferrari, even if the red team remains his priority.<\/p>\n
C\u00e2mara\u2019s Formula 1 debut will in a sense reset the clock by giving the team a younger, less experienced junior who will have more time to wait for a call-up.<\/p>\n
But more important is that the two Ferrari young guns will benchmark each other before being called up to Maranello.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no question that Bearman has been impressive over his almost two seasons in Formula 1, comfortably dispatching experienced race-winner Ocon and forming the backbone of Haas\u2019s scoring efforts.<\/p>\n
But Ocon hasn\u2019t applied any sustained pressure to him for a long time, and Ferrari also has limited visibility of how good Ocon really is.<\/p>\n
With C\u00e2mara alongside Bearman, Ferrari will have a much deeper understanding of how each is performing relative to the other, and both will have to respond to the low hum of pressure of knowing that likely only one of them will get their dream Maranello promotion.<\/p>\n
The decision is also well timed for Haas, which was turned off rookies after its disastrous years fielding Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, both of whom floundered, albeit at a time of financial and competitive precarity for the American-owned squad in the shadow of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
With Bearman, however, Haas proved its environment can foster young talent \u2014 and the Briton has anyway proved that he\u2019s ready to lead the team, reducing the risk.<\/p>\n
It sets up Haas as a key team to watch in 2027, with the stakes much higher than just championship position.<\/p>\n
Verstappen secures Singapore win | 01:05<\/p>\n
WHAT NEXT FOR THE DRIVER MARKET?<\/p>\n
Haas\u2019s C\u00e2mara call all but seals the 2027 field at the 10th team to confirm its line-up.<\/p>\n
Racing Bulls is the only holdout, with neither Liam Lawson nor Arvid Lindblad yet re-signed.<\/p>\n
Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov has been touted as a potential replacement, most likely for Lawson, particularly if he beats C\u00e2mara to the Formula 2 title, though that prospect appears to have receded somewhat since he lost the series lead.<\/p>\n
There are also some murmurs that Red Bull is considering altering its approach to Racing Bulls. Whereas its primary objective has been to blood young talent, there appears to be some contemplation of giving the team great stability by allowing it to retain drivers for longer.<\/p>\n
This would be good news for Lawson, who in previous years would likely have been dropped at the end of 2026, regardless of his good form, in the interests of keeping the driver program churning.<\/p>\n
But having been key to the team being on track to achieve a best-ever fifth in the constructors championship, Lawson is now tipped to continue for at least another season alongside impressive rookie Lindblad \u2014 though Racing Bulls principal Alan Permane said a decision could still be some time away.<\/p>\n
\u201c[A decision] is going to be in the coming weeks,\u201d said Racing Bulls principal Alan Permane. \u201cWe\u2019re in no rush.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone knows we\u2019ve got two fantastic drivers. We\u2019ve got a fantastic driver in F2 at the moment, and they\u2019re all there and ready to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree doesn\u2019t fit into two of course, and we\u2019re just going to take a little bit more time and make sure we get the right pairing for next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cTop of the list [of criteria] is speed and pace and all that goes with that, but \u2026 we want to bring on young talent, and of course we have one eye on them progressing in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s not just about the here and now, it\u2019s also about what they can do in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Confirmed drivers for 2027<\/p>\n
Mercedes: Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell<\/p>\n
Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc<\/p>\n
McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing: Max Verstappen and Laurent Mekies<\/p>\n
Racing Bulls: none (out of contract: Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad)<\/p>\n
Alpine: Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto<\/p>\n
Haas: Oliver Bearman and Rafael C\u00e2mara<\/p>\n
Audi: Nico H\u00fclkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto<\/p>\n
Williams: Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon<\/p>\n
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll<\/p>\n
Cadillac: Sergio P\u00e9rez and Valtteri Bottas<\/p>\n
Despite a silly season that started with as many as 17 drivers out of contract or with exit clauses available to them, it appears likely that C\u00e2mara will be the only change for 2027, with Ocon the only driver not to continue on the grid.<\/p>\n
The Frenchman, however, has not given up on finding a place despite no seat being obviously available.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I look at the results and what I\u2019ve shown in Formula 1, I deserve to be in Formula 1,\u201d he said in Singapore at the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course there are other categories which are fantastic as well, but I want to be racing in Formula 1 in the next five, seven years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where I want to be, so I will keep pushing to be in that position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the near future, that\u2019s the only thing I\u2019m looking at so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said that he would not race next year if he could not find an F1 seat, suggesting he is prepared to consider a reserve driver role for 2027 in the hope of returning to the grid in 2028.<\/p>\n
Aston Martin has been touted as a possibility, having reportedly been a candidate for Fernando Alonso\u2019s seat had the Spaniard decided to retire.<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s Blick has reported he could also displace Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac, though that would require the team to break the Finnish driver\u2019s contract at significant expense \u2014 and it\u2019s debatable whether the team would get any meaningful performance benefit from an early move given the car remains the most significant problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Haas has signed Ferrari-backed Formula 2 star Rafael C\u00e2mara to replace Esteban Ocon in 2027, extinguishing Australian Jack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-929701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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