Haas to make Ocon call ‘within weeks’

Haas principal Ayao Komatsu will decide his team’s 2027 driver line-up within weeks and has not yet ruled out Esteban Ocon as a candidate.

Speculation has been mounting over Ocon’s future two seasons into his Haas career, with the team having tested four contenders for his seat this year, including reserve driver Jack Doohan just last week.

RACER understands that Ferrari-backed Formula 2 title contender Rafael Camara has emerged as the frontrunner for the seat, and Ocon said this week that he would be “definitely a free agent for next year” in a downcast media appearance in Azerbaijan.

Komatsu admitted that the team had passed up an opportunity to take up an option on Ocon’s contract for 2027 but insisted that no decision had yet been made on the Frenchman’s future.

“Every driver has a certain point in the year to decide on the option; it just means that we haven’t decided on that option yet, but that was quite a long time ago,” Komatsu said, responding to Ocon’s earlier comments. “So his situation hasn’t really changed.

“We still are trying to finalize what we’re going to do for next year.”

Haas is one of just three teams yet to have confirmed a full 2027 line-up, along with Racing Bulls and Aston Martin. Asked how soon a decision could be made, Komatsu said he would make a call “within the next couple of weeks”.

“We’ve done all the evaluations, so we’re just waiting to summarize our findings, have a discussion internally, have a chat with Gene [Haas, team owner], and then we’ll take the final decision,” he said.

“It’s a very, very important decision, obviously, and of course we’re talking about the lives of those people.

“For those guys Formula 1 is always a dream to achieve, so we’ve got to make the right decision. That’s why we’re taking time to just make sure we do it right.”

Despite purported frontrunner Camara coming with the backing of engine supplier Ferrari, Komatsu emphasized that performance would be key to his decision.

“First and foremost, the guy needs to have speed,” he said. “The guy needs to be fast.

“But really he needs to be a team player, work closely with the team – especially for a small team like us, those two drivers, the integration into the team, how they motivate the team, how they drive the team is very, very important.

“It’s got to be a personal character that is very important for us.”

Though Bearman, also backed by Ferrari, is expected to remain at Haas, Komatsu also wouldn’t be drawn on the Englishman’s contract.

“Driver combination is obviously a pretty complex topic,” he said. “We’ve been happy with Ollie as well.

“Like I said, we are still finalizing our internal discussion. I really can’t say anything more than that.”