Rafael Camara targets learning from Ollie Bearman as he makes surprise Haas F1 debut in Sao Paulo

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

Rafael Camara will make an unexpected Formula 1 debut for Haas this weekend at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, and the 21-year-old says his priority is learning quickly—starting with watching teammate Ollie Bearman closely as they work together in the team for the first time.

Camara’s opportunity came after Haas confirmed that Esteban Ocon would no longer race for the team for the remainder of the season, bringing forward Camara’s previously planned arrival in F1 from 2027. The move also changes Camara’s immediate on-track schedule, with his 2026 preparation arriving later than originally intended.

According to Camara’s stated timeline, he had already been scheduled to make his FP1 debut for Ferrari at Interlagos, which would have been his first outing in a 2026-spec car. That original plan included one practice session for Haas, before additional running with the works team. With the late call-up, Camara’s role shifts from a planned transition into a race-week spotlight at his home event.

Camara said that having Bearman alongside him will be a practical advantage because they share a link through the Ferrari Driver Academy. He told Formula 1 that it “would be very good to have Ollie,” adding that Bearman has “always been doing a good job,” and that it will help him “extract for myself” what Bearman is doing so he can “put in place” his own approach.

He also clarified the nature of their familiarity. Camara said they have been together at Ferrari “since the start,” though in different junior categories, with Bearman moving toward higher ranks such as F3 while Camara was coming through lower categories like F4. While their time at Ferrari has brought them into shared training environments, Camara described knowing Bearman “a bit” rather than “that much,” which makes this weekend’s direct on-track comparison particularly valuable.

Beyond the immediate performance focus, Camara is also preparing for a home crowd moment at Interlagos. He said he has felt Brazilian support grow as he progressed through the junior ranks, pointing to the increased visibility that came once he reached F3.

Camara added that it is “always been nice” to see how much fans cheer and support him, and he framed his first F1 race in front of the Brazilian public as “something very special.” He said he will aim to deliver a “nice weekend” while also approaching the opportunity “step by step,” emphasizing the need to keep progressing in a controlled, incremental way.

For Haas, the late reshaping of its race lineup means Camara’s debut is arriving quickly, with a teammate he knows through the Ferrari pathway. For Camara, the weekend represents both an accelerated step into a 2026 F1 programme and a chance to learn in real time from how Bearman navigates the demands of Haas machinery at Interlagos.

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix will therefore serve as a decisive test of Camara’s adaptability—both in working with a new team at short notice and in using Bearman as a reference as he tackles his first F1 start in his home environment.