F1 star is set to lose his job and Ferrari and McLaren are in a fight to replace him with 'their guy'

Not for the first time this year, McLaren and Ferrari appear to be going head-to-head - this time to get one of 'their guys' into the F1 grid for 2027.

Brazilian insider Julianne Cerasoli, writing for UOL, reports that Haas are running an unofficial audition this week for drivers to replace Esteban Ocon alongside Ollie Bearman in 2027.

That test, running on Wednesday and Thursday at Portimao, will reportedly feature the Ferrari Driver Academy's Brazilian youngster Rafael Camara, with McLaren reserve driver Leonardo Fornaroli and Toyota-backed Ryo Hirakawa (currently Haas' reserve driver) - and Bearman, to provide a point of comparison.

Ferrari and McLaren both appear to be pushing hard to get their preferred candidate into one of the few available F1 seats for 2027 (Camara has also been linked with Cadillac), with Honda also keen to get 32-year-old Hirakawa on the grid.

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Fred Vasseur: We have invested heavily in Camara

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told UOL: “We are supporting Rafael massively. It’s not just about financial support. We provided financial backing, but we also invested heavily in training with older cars for him this year.

"The cost of that is far, far higher than the financial support itself. To prepare him as best as possible for next week’s test and the upcoming season, Haas - as a partner – will try to find the best way to bring him into F1 next year.”

There remains a good chance that Camara's 2027 role will 'only' be as a test and reserve driver for Haas, with the American team perhaps the least well-funded on the grid.

That means that even if Camara proves himself the most F1-ready this week, or at least the driver with the most immediate potential, Haas may go in another direction if they believe that an alternative driver could bring in more money from sponsors/'investment'.

That driver could be Fornaroli, whose future McLaren have invested heavily in through his back-to-back F3 and F2 titles in 2024 and 2025.

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