Haas faces a huge dilemma after testing three drivers in Portimao

Haas has not yet announced any of its drivers for next season. It can be assumed that Oliver Bearman will be loaned from Ferrari for another year, while Esteban Ocon will leave the American team. His departure is not official, but more and more signs point to the Frenchman’s exit.

One of those signs is the Test of Previous Cars (TPC) that Haas held last week at the Portimão circuit in Portugal. Ferrari talent Rafael Camara, McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli, and Haas reserve Ryo Hirakawa took part.

GPblog has learned that at least twice, and possibly even three times, a performance comparison was made between Bearman on the one hand, and Hirakawa and Fornaroli on the other. The three drivers were consistently within a tenth of a second of each other.

On the final day, Camara took over the wheel from the trio. On the Friday, conditions were markedly different from Wednesday and Friday, making a fair comparison impossible. However, GPblog has learned that Camara also left a very positive impression on the team.

Haas now faces the difficult task of choosing between the three drivers. Hirakawa is the oldest and the most experienced, having won titles in the World Endurance Championship. Toyota would like to see the Japanese driver in the car. Fornaroli, in turn, is seen as a major talent, having had a look inside McLaren’s operation and gaining valuable technical knowledge.

Finally, there is Camara, with the Brazilian highly rated by Ferrari. A drawback could be that he does not have an extensive testing program with F1 cars under his belt. Moreover, Haas must consider whether it wants to loan two drivers from the Scuderia.