Four drivers move in on Ocon's Haas seat before Monza
Portimao and Jerez become an audition. Four young drivers, two backers with very different agendas, and one of the few genuinely open seats on the 2027 grid.
Haas is reportedly preparing a four-driver audition for Esteban Ocon’s 2027 seat, with pressure building from Ferrari and Toyota over who should get the opportunity.
According to as-web.jp, Leonardo Fornaroli, Rafael Camara, Ryo Hirakawa and Jack Doohan are all set to take part in TPC running before Monza as Haas evaluates its options for next season.
The tests are expected to take place first at Portimao and then Jerez, with Oliver Bearman also driving to provide a benchmark.
Fornaroli has already impressed team principal Ayao Komatsu in earlier running, but Ferrari is strongly backing Camara.
Asked at Zandvoort whether Ferrari would support the Brazilian as McLaren has supported Fornaroli, Frederic Vasseur was emphatic.
"We strongly support Rafael," he said. "And that's not just financially - we've used him in many TPC events this year, and the cost of that far exceeds the amount of support we've given him."
"We did that to get him in top condition for next week's test. We're also looking for the best way to bring him into the team for next season."
Toyota, meanwhile, is understood to be pushing Hirakawa, while Haas reserve Doohan also has an opportunity to stake his claim.
The timing is significant because Ocon's future has already become one of the more uncertain seats on the 2027 grid.
With Williams locking in Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, and Fernando Alonso increasingly likely to remain at Aston Martin, Haas is one of the few teams with a potentially open seat and therefore little need to rush its decision.
Related: Ocon plays down Haas exit talk on his 10-year F1 milestone
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Interesting if true, although Hirakawa most certainly doesn’t realistically have a chance, or he would’ve already become a full-time driver by now, given his overall career situation, nor would he even be an upgrade over Ocon & likewise, Doohan wouldn’t be an upgrade.
Only Camara & Fornaroli could realistically be comparatively superior options to Ocon, given the promise they’ve shown in lower single-seaters.
Ironically, if Ocon continues to outperform Ollie round after round, all this speculation about replacement options would become pointless.
On a side note, Alonso isn’t any more increasingly likely to continue than before, as he’s implied ever since the last Emilia-Romagna GP that he’s more likely to continue beyond this season than retire yet.