Camara makes his F1 debut with Haas in Sao Paulo: Ocon out for the weekend

Rafael Camara makes his Formula 1 debut with Haas at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The team has chosen the Brazilian for the Interlagos weekend and confirmed that Esteban Ocon will not return to a race seat with the TGR Haas F1 Team this season. The announcement therefore opens the door to the first taste of the World Championship for the driver from Sao Paulo, who will drive the VF-26 alongside Ollie Bearman.

The debut comes earlier than initially planned and gives Camara his first outing in F1 at his home event. Haas explained that the move was also made possible by Ocon's already planned commitments in the World Endurance Championship next weekend. On the previous weekend, the Frenchman had been replaced by Ryo Hirakawa, who finished tenth and scored a point in his first race with the team.

Camara is already tied to Haas for 2027 and has built his path through the junior formulas with titles in the Formula Regional European Championship and Formula 3. Supporting the team's decision is also the TPC test in August, in which the Brazilian had impressed at the wheel of the American team's 2025 car.

The situation at Haas

According to Formula1.com, Ayao Komatsu explained that the team informed Ocon of the decision not to bring him back into a race seat for the rest of the season. The team principal named Camara as the choice for Sao Paulo, pointing precisely to the August test as the reference for the Brazilian's promotion.

For Camara, whom Ferrari considers one of its leading young talents, the step up comes after years spent moving between karting and the junior categories. Marca also reports that the driver from Sao Paulo has already crossed paths several times with Kimi Antonelli in the junior series, but now the present is only about Formula 1 and the debut with Haas in front of his home crowd.