Ferrari junior driver Rafael Camara will make his Formula 1 debut for Haas next season.

Haas, one of Ferrari’s customer teams, confirmed the 21-year-old will take the seat vacated by Esteban Ocon at the end of the year. He is expected to partner Oliver Bearman, another member of Ferrari’s driver academy, who has driven for Haas since last year.

Camara has enjoyed a stellar rise through the junior formula series since being picked up by Ferrari in 2022. He currently leads the Formula 2 championship standings, with no indication yet whether the final rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi will be able to go ahead.

Like fellow Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, Camara won the Formula 3 championship at his first attempt. He also won the Formula Regional European Championship the year before.

Camara has already experienced one of Haas’s Formula 1 chassis in a Test of Previous Cars at the Autodromo do Algarve, which will hold the Portuguese Grand Prix next year. He has also tested for Ferrari.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said he is “really excited to sign such a young, amazing talent like Rafael Camara.”

“He showed when we had him drive in our TPC program in Portugal that he could handle himself very well with not a huge amount of time to learn the car,” Komatsu continued, “he showed us more than just raw speed. Rafa managed to create an environment to get the best out of himself, it was very impressive and certainly the laps he completed were special.”

Camara thanked Komatsu, Haas team owner Gene Haas and the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy for his chance to make his F1 debut.

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