F1 team boss sets driver lineup deadline with grand prix winner facing the axe

Alonso, Hamilton, Sainz and Ocon stood alongside one another in F1 race suits before 2025 Brazilian GP — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Silly Season

F1 team boss sets driver lineup deadline with grand prix winner facing the axe

Clock's ticking!

Chris Deeley Editor

Experienced sports writer covering F1 and other motorsports since 2023

Saturday 26 September 2026 21:45

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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has denied that the American team has made a decision on their driver lineup for 2027 yet.

The seat under the microscope is Esteban Ocon's, with Ollie Bearman expected to have a new team-mate next season - and Ocon himself calling himself a 'free agent' earlier this week.

Ferrari Driver Academy starlet Rafael Camara is currently the favourite to take Ocon's seat for 2027, joining his fellow Ferrari youth driver Bearman at the Scuderia customer team, but Komatsu denied that any decision has been taken yet.

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He also insisted that Ocon's situation 'hasn't really changed', hinting that the Frenchman could still have a future with the team depending on conversations over the next couple of weeks.

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Komatsu: No decision on Haas seat yet

"We haven't made any decision yet," Komatsu said in Baku, "but like Laurent [Mekies] said, every driver have a let's say closing certain point in here to decide on the option.

"It just means that we haven't decided on that option yet, but that that was quite a long time ago. So his situation hasn't really changed. We still are trying to finalise what we're gonna do for next year.

"You know what we look for in the drivers first and foremost. The guy needs to have speed. Guy needs to be fast. That's something, you know that's their talent. We cannot teach them the speed, so needs to be fast.

"But really needs to be a team player, work closely with the team, and especially for a small team like us. You know those two drivers. The integration into the team, how they motivate the team, how they drive the team is very, very important. So it's got to be a personal character that is very important for us, but I think it's same for any teams, but especially for teams like us. We are small team."

Pressed for a timeline for a final decision and announcement on the team's 2027 lineup, he added: “Soon, within the next couple of weeks, we've done all the evaluation. So just waiting to summarise our findings, have a discussion internally, have a chat with Gene [Haas], and we will take the final decision.”