SAO PAULO : Brazilian Rafael Camara will make his Formula One race debut at his home Grand Prix in Sao Paulo this weekend after Haas ruled out any return for dropped driver Esteban Ocon this season.
Ocon was sidelined ahead of last Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix for unspecified reasons unrelated to his health and replaced by Japanese reserve driver Ryo Hirakawa, who finished 10th.
Formula Two championship leader Camara, 21, who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, was announced last month as Ocon’s replacement for the 2027 season.
“We have now notified Esteban Ocon that he will not return to a race seat with TGR Haas F1 team this season,” team principal Ayao Komatsu said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Such decisions are never made lightly, as was the case in Mexico City — but then, as now, we feel this is firmly in the best interest of the team moving forward,” the Japanese added.
“The conversations that ultimately unfolded between the team and Esteban remain an internal matter, and we will continue to respect the private nature of closed-door situations.”
Ocon has denied that “any form of physical violence” led to his exclusion but acknowledged a “difference in viewpoints” with the team.
Camara impressed Haas during a test in one of the team’s previous cars last August. Hirakawa, meanwhile, has World Endurance Championship commitments with Toyota this weekend.
Haas are seventh in the constructors’ standings, just four points ahead of Audi. Britain’s Ollie Bearman has scored 23 of the team’s 31 points across 19 races this season.
Audi also have a Brazilian driver in Gabriel Bortoleto, who finished eighth in Mexico.
