By Abhishek Takle
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept 24 (Reuters) – American Formula One team Haas are evaluating a number of drivers and will finalise their 2027 line-up within the next couple of weeks team, boss Ayao Komatsu said on Thursday, a day after the team’s under-pressure racer Esteban Ocon declared himself a “free agent.”
“We haven’t made any decision yet,” Komatsu told reporters on Thursday ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“We still are trying to finalise what we’re going to do for next year.”
Race winner Ocon, 30, who joined Haas last year alongside Ferrari-backed Briton Oliver Bearman, on Wednesday said he was talking to other teams.
Multiple media reports, meanwhile, have identified Ferrari-supported Brazilian Rafael Camara, currently second in the Formula 2 standings, as favourite to replace him.
Komatsu confirmed that Camara, 2025 Formula Two champion and McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli, Toyota-backed Japanese racer Ryo Hirakawa and the team’s current reserve Jack Doohan were all options Haas could choose from, with the team having run them in private tests in older cars.
“If that wasn’t the option, why do we test?” said Komatsu.
“We’ve done all the evaluations, so we’re just waiting to summarise our findings, have a discussion internally, have a chat with (team owner) Gene (Haas), and then we’ll take the final decision.”
When asked if keeping Ocon was still an option, Komatsu answered: “Yes. Like I said, we haven’t made any decisions yet.”
Responding to Ocon’s “free agent” comment, Komatsu said, “Every driver has, let’s say, a closing 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.
“So his situation hasn’t really changed.”
(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Baku, editing by Ed Osmond)
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