The 2027 Haas seat: who replaces Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon leaves Haas at the end of 2026. Rafael Câmara, Jack Doohan, Ryo Hirakawa and Leonardo Fornaroli are the drivers left in contention to partner Oliver Bearman.
By Barry Michael Doyle · Published · Updated
As of 1 October 2026, Esteban Ocon is leaving Haas at the end of the season and Haas has not named his replacement. Rafael Câmara is the favourite.
Ocon is leaving
Esteban Ocon announced on 30 September 2026 that he will leave Haas when the season ends, and Haas confirmed it with a statement from Ayao Komatsu. The team said it would not share further driver news at that time.
Ocon said he leaves with his head held high and that this is “absolutely not the end of my Formula 1 career”. He has not said where he goes next.
What Komatsu has said
Writing for the Japanese publication as-web.jp during the Monza weekend, Ayao Komatsu named the five drivers in contention for one 2027 Haas seat.
Ocon held the seat and was one of the five. Haas has been comparing the others in private testing. Grandprix.com reports that Hirakawa, Fornaroli and Bearman were within a tenth of a second of each other at Jerez, and that Haas gathered more data at Portimao afterwards. Doohan has since completed his own test at Jerez, running alongside Hirakawa and Sho Tsuboi. It was the last of the runs Haas said it wanted before deciding. Asked on 18 September when he would decide, Komatsu said: “I don’t know, not next week, shall I say.” He added that performance comes first, and that a driver’s backing only counts if two candidates are otherwise equal.
Where the contest stands
Grandprix.com reported on 17 September 2026 that reporting in Europe and Brazil places Câmara at the front of the queue to partner Bearman, and that neither Haas nor Ferrari has announced an agreement. GPblog puts the move at 90 percent through its paddock sources, and Grande Prêmio suggests he could be announced around his home Grand Prix in São Paulo.
Câmara’s case rests on a private Haas test at Portimão in late August. Brazilian reports say he produced the strongest comparison of the candidates who drove the car, though Haas has not published the times. With Ocon leaving, four of the five remain, and Formula 1 names Câmara as the favourite for the seat.
Why Bearman is not on the list
The five Komatsu named were competing for one seat. Bearman holds the other, and Komatsu left him out of the contest because his place in the team is secure.
Haas’s July 2024 release says Bearman signed a multi-year contract beginning with the 2025 season. It names no end year. PlanetF1 reports the deal runs to the end of 2026 with a team option for 2027, and that Haas is expected to take it. Haas has confirmed neither the expiry nor the option.
Esteban Ocon
Ocon joined Haas in 2025 and finished fifth in China in his second race for the team. He won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix with Alpine. He leaves Haas at the end of 2026 after two seasons and has not announced his next team.
- Haas: Esteban Ocon’s career and results
- Formula 1: Ocon confirms he will leave Haas (30 September 2026)
Ocon’s Haas merch is on the F1 Store while stock lasts.
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Jack Doohan
Doohan joined Haas as a reserve driver in February 2026. He finished third in Formula 2 in 2023, made his F1 debut with Alpine at Abu Dhabi in 2024, and raced the opening six Grands Prix of 2025. He is the only remaining candidate who has started a Grand Prix.
Ryo Hirakawa
Hirakawa became a Haas reserve in April 2025 after testing the VF-24 in Abu Dhabi. He ran four Haas FP1 sessions in 2025: Bahrain, Spain, Mexico City and Abu Dhabi. He also races Toyota’s endurance programme, and Toyota is a Haas partner.
Rafael Câmara
Câmara won the 2025 FIA Formula 3 title as a rookie with Trident, with four wins and five pole positions. He is a Ferrari Driver Academy member, moved to Formula 2 with Invicta for 2026 and leads the championship. Haas has run him in its private testing.
Leonardo Fornaroli
Fornaroli won the 2024 FIA Formula 3 championship, then the 2025 Formula 2 title with Invicta in his rookie season. Haas has run him in its private testing.
When will Haas decide?
Haas has named no date. On 24 September, Komatsu said the evaluations were complete and he expected a decision within about two weeks, after discussing the findings with Gene Haas. When it confirmed Ocon’s exit on 30 September, Haas said it would not share further driver news at that time. Grande Prêmio has suggested an announcement around Câmara’s home race in São Paulo on 8 November. This guide will be updated when Haas names Ocon’s replacement, and the shortlist will stay as the field it considered.
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