Haas delays 2027 driver call as focus stays on 2026 fix
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 29, 2026
2027 driver plan
Haas is taking its time on the 2027 Formula 1 driver lineup, and team principal Ayao Komatsu says the organization is in no rush to make that call. He said Haas is evaluating all interested drivers while keeping its main attention on the job ahead in 2026. That is the clearest sign yet that the team does not plan to let the next lineup decision pull focus from the car it is building for next season. Komatsu has kept the message simple. Haas wants more speed first, then a decision on the future. Oliver Bearman is expected to keep his Haas seat, which gives the team one familiar piece to work around, but Esteban Ocon’s future remains under review. Both drivers are out of contract at the end of the current season, so Haas enters the stretch with one likely holdover and one open question. The timing gives the team room to examine its options, and Komatsu’s comments show it intends to use that room. The approach also keeps the evaluation process broad. Haas is not treating the market as a quick fix or a one-driver search. It is looking at every serious candidate it can, then sorting the field with the 2026 car and results still at the top of the agenda.
Portimao testing
That long-term planning ran alongside another evaluation step at Portimao, where Haas completed a three-day Testing of Previous Cars program using its 2025-spec VF-25. Ryo Hirakawa, Leonardo Fornaroli and Rafael Camara each got time in the car, giving Haas a look at different drivers in the same equipment. The test fit the team’s wider effort to judge talent as it builds toward the 2027 lineup decision, and it also kept the focus on real track data rather than speculation. A test like that gives Haas a better read on how a driver adapts, how he handles the car over a run and how the team responds to his feedback. Hirakawa, Fornaroli and Camara added to that picture by sharing driving duties in the VF-25, which made the session more than a simple shakedown. It became part of Haas’ ongoing evaluation work. The Portimao run also showed how the team is using its resources to keep the process active without making the call too early. Rather than waiting for the driver market to sort itself out, Haas is building its own file on the available options. That is consistent with Komatsu’s position. The team is looking ahead, but it is not letting the next lineup step outrun the present one. The VF-25 work at Portimao gave Haas another controlled setting to compare drivers and gather information, and that matters when a team wants both performance and clarity before it commits to a new pairing.
Fuji evaluation
Portimao was not the only recent stop in Haas’ driver review program. The team held a similar Testing of Previous Cars session last month at Fuji, where Sho Tsuboi and Nirei Fukuzumi took part. That earlier outing shows the evaluation process is already underway and not built around a single test or a single venue. Haas has used two separate TPC runs to sample different drivers and broaden its view of the market. The pattern points to a deliberate method. The team is not making its 2027 decision based on one impression. It is stacking up track time, comparing reactions and learning which drivers fit its program best. The Fuji and Portimao tests also give context to Komatsu’s comments about patience. Haas can afford to keep collecting information because it has chosen to place 2026 improvement first. That means the 2027 call can wait until the team believes it has enough data to make the right choice. The structure of the tests suggests Haas wants that choice to come from performance, adaptability and feedback, not urgency. Bearman’s expected return gives the team some continuity, and Ocon’s situation leaves room for review. The result is a driver picture that remains open, but not unsettled. Haas has already started sorting through its options, and the twin tests at Fuji and Portimao show how it plans to do it, one track run at a time.
