A summer full of silly season
There is movement in the Formula 1 driver market. Summer is known to rush the teams to try to define agreements for the upcoming season and it is necessary to finalize what were the first approaches in the previous months with the various drivers. In this delicate game of musical chairs, Ferrari could play a central role, which is quite paradoxical since in Maranello the 2027 lineup should be very much confirmed, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton continuing to share the red garage for the third consecutive season.
Read more McNish: “Audi? The project leader is Binotto”. But in the market he distances Sainz
However, the Prancing Horse also controls the contract of Oliver Bearman, currently with Haas – which is linked to Ferrari by a very close technical partnership and more – and who is becoming an increasingly hot name in market terms. News has recently emerged of Red Bull’s interest in him, which could consider him if Max Verstappen really decides to leave the Milton Keynes team. Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu, hinted that the final word on the young Englishman’s fate will belong to Ferrari and not to him.
A puzzle game between Bearman and Camara
“Hindering a possible departure of Bearman? No, not from our side – explained the Japanese team principal to Sky Sport UK – obviously we are focused on what we can do in terms of Ollie’s contract, but this mainly concerns Ferrari. If we do a good job and Ollie shines, we obviously want to keep him in the team, but it doesn’t depend on us. So we are focusing only on what we can control“. However, it seems difficult to imagine that at this moment Ferrari would decide to part with Bearman to let him join Red Bull. The most likely scenario is therefore that #87 continues his adventure at Haas, still ‘on loan’ from Ferrari.
Read more FP1 Spa Telemetry: RedBull-Ferrari compromised well in the corner, Mercedes too unloaded for now
Another name frequently mentioned on the Ferrari-Haas axis is that of the young Brazilian Rafael Camara, 2025 F3 champion and currently third in the F2 standings. Camara is also part of the Ferrari Academy and is considered a credible candidate as a potential replacement for Esteban Ocon right at Haas. For that seat – assuming Ocon is not renewed by Haas – there is also Leonardo Fornaroli, from the McLaren Academy. In this case, Komatsu explained that there are no particular constraints requiring Haas to necessarily favor the FDA product.
“Obviously we are fully focused on getting the most out of our two current drivers – said Komatsu – we support Esteban 100%. At the moment we are only thinking about this. And to be clear, yes, Rafa [Camara] is doing a good job, but it’s not like Ferrari is pushing us to take him or anything like that. We choose drivers based on performance. Whoever guarantees us the best performance, that will be our driver“.
Read more Mercedes against the current: here are the developments for the fast tracks
