- Rafael Câmara said at Interlagos that his plans for the rest of 2026 still need to be decided.
- Haas has confirmed Câmara alongside Ollie Bearman for the São Paulo Grand Prix after Esteban Ocon’s departure.
- Câmara leads Nikola Tsolov by seven points in Formula 2, whose final two rounds are scheduled alongside Formula 1 in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
Rafael Câmara arrived at Interlagos with a seven-point lead in Formula 2 and a Formula 1 race seat for the weekend. The first of those puts him in contention for a championship. The second gives him a Grand Prix debut in front of his home crowd, months earlier than planned. Asked by GRANDE PRÊMIO at Thursday’s press conference how he would balance the two, Câmara said the decision could wait until after São Paulo.
“There’s still a lot to discuss and decide about what we’re going to do in the future. I still need to speak to the people who manage my career to understand what’s best for us. There’s still a lot going on, so the focus right now is on having the best weekend possible [at Interlagos]. After that, we’ll talk and see what can be done,” Câmara said.
Why Haas brought Câmara’s debut forward
Câmara had signed with Haas for 2027 after putting himself in contention for the Formula 2 title with Invicta Racing. The opening came sooner in Mexico City, where Ocon stepped out of the Haas line-up after second practice. Reserve driver Ryō Hirakawa took over for the rest of the weekend and scored a point on his Grand Prix debut after post-race penalties.
Haas then confirmed that Ocon would no longer race for the team and named Câmara as Ollie Bearman’s teammate for São Paulo. Hirakawa has a World Endurance Championship commitment at Monza this weekend, where he is in contention for the drivers’ title with Toyota. At Interlagos, Câmara will have the full programme from Friday practice through Sunday’s race to work with Haas.
Where the F1 and F2 calendars overlap
The next F1 round is Las Vegas, which has no Formula 2 race on its schedule. GRANDE PRÊMIO has reported that Câmara is expected to stay in the Haas for Las Vegas. Haas’s confirmation covers São Paulo, and Câmara said at Interlagos that the rest of his programme was still up for discussion.
The choice becomes more consequential after Las Vegas. Qatar and Abu Dhabi are on both calendars, and racing for Haas on those weekends would prevent Câmara from competing in the corresponding Formula 2 rounds. If both events go ahead and he returns to Invicta, he will have two rounds to defend the lead he took in Azerbaijan. He has 207 points, against 200 for Nikola Tsolov and 189 for Alex Dunne.
First comes the São Paulo Grand Prix. Câmara’s first session as a Haas race driver is on Friday, November 6, at 15:30 GMT, 10:30 Eastern and 21:00 IST. Qualifying follows on Saturday, with his first Grand Prix start scheduled for Sunday.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is covering every session of the São Paulo Grand Prix live from Interlagos. Follow our on-site coverage in Formula 1.
