Australian Jack Doohan has missed out on a Formula 1 race seat for 2027 after Haas signed Ferrari junior and Formula 2 championship leader Rafael Camara on a multi-year deal to replace Esteban Ocon.
Haas confirmed Camara’s promotion in an official team release, with Formula1.com reporting the multi-year deal early Friday (AEDT). The 21-year-old Brazilian will make his Formula 1 debut with the American squad at the start of the 2027 season.
For Australian fans, the headline is Doohan. The Gold Coast driver has been Haas’s reserve this season after losing his Alpine race seat in 2025, and Fox Sports Australia reported that the final call came down to a straight choice between Camara and Doohan — with Camara winning out for pace and the fuller package.
Google Trends showed “jack doohan” surging in Australia on Friday morning as the news landed locally, underlining how closely the seat battle was watched at home.
Camara gets the nod
Camara currently leads the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Invicta Racing on 207 points, with two rounds remaining, according to Haas. He won the Formula 3 title in 2025 and is a Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member — the same Ferrari pathway as current Haas driver Oliver Bearman, according to Haas.
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His first hands-on work with Haas came in an August Testing of Previous Car (TPC) session at Portimao in Portugal, driving the team’s VF-25. Team principal Ayao Komatsu said that run sealed the decision.
“I’m really excited to sign such a young, amazing talent like Rafael Câmara,” Komatsu said in the Haas release. “He showed when we had him drive in our TPC program in Portugal that he could handle himself very well with not a huge amount of time to learn the car, he showed us more than just raw speed.”
Speaking to PlanetF1 and other outlets, Komatsu was blunt about why Camara beat the other candidates: “He was the quickest. That was a very simple answer. It was impressive.”
Fox Sports quoted Komatsu, via Racer, saying performance overrode other factors: “I always said we’re going to choose drivers by performance, and then through those evaluations Rafa just showed incredible speed and feel, so that was the fully overriding factor above everything else.”
What it means for Doohan
Doohan impressed enough in private testing to emerge as a late frontrunner, Fox Sports reported, but Camara’s junior form and Portimao pace tipped the scales. The decision ends Doohan’s immediate path back onto the 2027 grid with Haas.
Komatsu left the door ajar. “It’s still up in the air,” he told PlanetF1 when asked about Doohan’s future with the team. “With Jack, our door is open, definitely. We’ve been talking with himself and then his manager as well to see if we can do something together beyond this year. So that’s still an open question.”
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Doohan has not yet publicly detailed his next move, including whether he stays on as a Haas reserve or looks at options outside Formula 1.
Camara’s reaction — and Bearman’s status
“I’m very happy to be joining TGR Haas F1 Team as a Formula 1 driver,” Camara said in the Haas announcement. “It’s an important step in my career and I want to thank Gene Haas and Ayao Komatsu for the trust they have placed in me.”
Team owner Gene Haas said Camara “impressed the team with his TPC performance” and pointed to Bearman’s similar Ferrari-academy pathway as proof young drivers can “make an immediate impact”.
Bearman has not been formally re-confirmed for 2027. Fox Sports reported Komatsu saying confirmation will “come in due course” and is “just a matter of timing” on final details. Formula1.com said Bearman is likely to retain his seat, but that remains unofficial.
2027 grid picture
With Haas filling Ocon’s vacancy, Fox Sports noted Racing Bulls as the only team yet to lock in its 2027 line-up, with Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad still unsigned. Esteban Ocon is leaving Haas at season’s end and has said he still wants to race in Formula 1.
The United States Grand Prix at Austin is next for Haas, with practice on Friday 23 October.
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