Shock at Haas: Esteban Ocon out completely! Camara to drive in Brazil

It has now been officially confirmed what had been hinted at: Esteban Ocon will not be driving another race for Haas. The team announced this on Tuesday evening, Central European Time.

A brief recap: On the Saturday morning of the Mexican Grand Prix, Haas announced that Ryo Hirakawa, who had driven FP1 for Haas on Friday, would replace the team’s regular driver, Esteban Ocon, for the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.

According to reports in *L’Équipe*, there had been an altercation – allegedly involving physical contact – between Ocon and Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu on the eve of his suspension in Mexico. Ocon denies the allegations. The Haas team did not comment further on the matter, stating only that Ocon was not absent due to illness. Last month, Haas had already officially announced Ocon’s departure at the end of the season – but then everything happened faster than expected.

Camara replaces sacked Ocon at Haas

Haas has now announced ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix that Ocon will not be competing in any further races for the team. Instead, Rafael Camara will take the second Haas seat alongside Oliver Bearman for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos (this coming weekend, 6–8 November). The Brazilian had already been announced as Ocon’s replacement from the start of the 2027 season. So now, of all places, he is making his early debut at his home Grand Prix.

Meet Rafael Camara

Rafael Camara (21) is competing in Formula 2 this season, where he leads the drivers’ championship. Haas had already announced him as a new signing for next season. However, Camara has not yet driven an F1 car during an official race weekend. So this will be a real debut! Camara has, however, already completed a TPC test with Haas in Portugal – a test drive in an older model.

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Haas-Teamchef Ayao Komatsu und der kommende GP-Pilot Rafael Camara

Foto: Haas F1

Team principal Ayao Komatsu is quoted in the statement as saying: “We have now informed Esteban Ocon that he will no longer be racing for the TGR Haas F1 Team this season. Decisions like this are never taken lightly, as was also the case in Mexico City – but then as now, we are convinced that this is in the team’s best interests for the future. The discussions that ultimately took place between the team and Esteban remain an internal matter, and we will continue to maintain the confidentiality of such behind-closed-doors discussions. Looking ahead, we have decided to field Rafael Câmara alongside Ollie Bearman at the São Paulo Grand Prix. Having impressed during his TPC stint in August, we are well aware of Rafa’s abilities and look forward to welcoming him to the team this weekend and working with him as he makes his Formula 1 debut at the wheel of the VF-26 in Brazil.”

The statement explicitly mentions only Brazil. What happens next in Las Vegas and at the (still-scheduled) races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi is therefore not yet confirmed. The only thing that is clear is that Ocon will no longer be driving.