Rafael Camara reflects on “very special” Sao Paulo F1 debut after stepping in for Haas

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Rafael Camara described his first outing in a 2026 Formula 1 car at home in Sao Paulo as “very special,” as the Haas rookie prepared to make his debut Grand Prix appearance this weekend after being called up earlier than expected. The 21-year-old Brazilian, who had already been signed to race for Haas in 2027, stepped up for this event following Haas’s confirmation that Esteban Ocon would not compete for the team for the rest of 2026.

Camara’s first two practice sessions on Friday delivered modest but meaningful learning runs. With plenty of attention on him at his home race, he finished P18 in FP1 and P16 in FP2, at a track he said he had never driven at before.

“It’s been a very nice weekend, very special,” Camara said. He added that the emotion ramped up when he approached FP1, explaining, “Going into FP1, it was getting a bit more emotional. You can see the crowd in front of you and everyone’s just so excited.” He said once in the car, focus shifts back to the familiar routine: “Once you get in the car and start driving, you just focus on your own thing. It’s the normal thing you’ve been doing all your life.”

Camara also framed Friday’s running as productive adaptation time, noting that he and the team were learning through the sessions. “It’s been a very nice weekend, a lot of things going on, but so far I think it’s been a good two sessions. We’re able to learn a lot and just keep improving through the day,” he said.

Adapting to the current generation of F1 machinery was another key theme. While Camara has completed Testing of Previous Car (TPC) work with both Haas and Ferrari, Friday marked his first on-track outing in a 2026-spec F1 car. “Once you get in the car, it’s a completely different thing,” he said, adding, “In a way, you get different feelings. It’s quite difficult to simulate the real car.”

He said there were many elements to learn and process during the day, and he looked ahead to how he would prepare overnight. “There were a lot of things to learn, a lot to adapt [to], and to process. As for tomorrow, it will be good tonight to just sit back, realise everything, understand more things and put things in place for tomorrow,” Camara said.

Friday’s running also included an incident that drew attention from the stewards. Camara was reprimanded for an impeding moment involving Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The situation, according to the stewards document, arose when Leclerc was on a flying lap and Camara was forced to take evasive action toward the wall at Turn 15 after moving across.

While the document noted that in typical Free Practice circumstances impeding results in a warning, it stated that “a reprimand is warranted” in this case, adding that the behaviour was “clearly dangerous.” Haas Head of Car Engineering Hoagy Nidd later offered a technical perspective on the moment, saying: “He’s full throttle. He’s starting a lap. He can’t really move any further to the right in the end, but it’s just one of those things. He’s absolutely flat out at that point.”