The 2027 Haas seat: five drivers in contention
Oliver Bearman is staying. Esteban Ocon, Jack Doohan, Ryo Hirakawa, Rafael Câmara and Leonardo Fornaroli are in contention for the other Haas seat.
By Barry Michael Doyle · Published · Updated
As of 17 September 2026, Haas has not announced who will take the second seat for 2027. Reporting now puts Rafael Câmara in front.
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 has the seat now and is 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 drove the 2025 car at Jerez on 17 September, the last of the runs Haas said it wanted before deciding, and Haas has not said the seat has been offered to anyone.
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. Ocon is still formally part of the process, because the five Komatsu named have not been cut.
Why Bearman is not on the list
The five are 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.
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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 is the one candidate Haas can measure across a full season in its current car, and keeping him would leave the line-up unchanged.
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. Besides Ocon, he is the only 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 and moved to Formula 2 with Invicta for 2026. 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. Komatsu’s shortlist leaves the seat open to Ocon and to the four drivers who would replace him, and the last test it said it wanted, Doohan at Jerez, ran on 17 September. The only timing anyone has reported is Grande Prêmio’s suggestion of an announcement around Câmara’s home race in São Paulo on 8 November. This guide will be updated when Haas confirms its 2027 line-up, and the five names will stay as the shortlist it considered.