Haas boss reveals Toyota reaction to signing Ferrari junior for 2027

On Thursday, the 15th of October, Haas confirmed that Esteban Ocon would be replaced by Formula 2 championship leader, Rafael Camara, for the 2027 season.

It had already been expected that Camara would become Haas’ latest Formula 1 driver, due to his links with Ferrari and the Italian constructor supplying its Power Units to Haas.

However, Haas also has very close links to Toyota, and the Japanese manufacturer has been pushing for one of its young drivers to get a seat in Formula 1 with Haas for the 2027 season.

When speaking to the media after confirming Camara for 2027, Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu explained how Toyota Gazoo Racing boss Akio Toyoda took the news.

Komatsu said, “From the very moment we started talking with Toyota, that was in ’24, I knew that Akio-San was very keen to get one of his drivers to the race seat in next year, 2027.

“So, I went to see him in person in Tokyo before we signed anything, before he made any comment to me, because I didn’t want any misunderstanding, or I didn’t want him to, let’s say, invest in a team with a misunderstanding of, ‘Okay, if we work together, we can get like one of my drivers to the race seat’.

“I said to him, ‘Look, I understand you know your target, but this driver, whoever your driver is going to be, has to be the fastest one’.

“If I choose the driver who is not the fastest, who is not the best, to Toyota, they’re going to be labelled as, ‘Okay. Toyota just poured the cash in to get their driver into F1.

“Then whoever this driver is who got the seat because of Toyota backing is going to be labelled as a Toyota pay driver. And then, as the Haas F1 team, we’re not going to produce the results that we should be producing because this guy is not the fastest guy.

“So, for all three parties involved, it’s not going to work, is it?”

But Toyota did get to see one of its drivers fight it out for the seat with Haas for the 2027 Formula 1 season, as Ryo Hirakawa joined the likes of Jack Doohan, Leonardo Fornaroli and Camara in a competition for the Haas seat.

“I was totally transparent from the start. ‘Akio San, we’re going to choose the driver who is the fastest’, and then he was completely happy with that.

“Of course, we’ve been informing how we’ve been assessing the drivers, where Ryo Hirakawa is, etc. etc.

“Initially, when we told him the plan to assess Ryo Hirakawa alongside some other drivers, he was actually very happy to say, ‘Wow, you know, Haas is doing it properly in this way. He was very, very happy.

“That shows the calibre of the person. I think he was never expecting his driver, in this case, Ryo Hirakawa, to be given a seat without merit, right? And then he was assured that we are doing it in as professional and as fair way as possible that we can execute.

“Once I made a decision, and then I went to see him on Monday, you know, after Singapore because we had another event, so that was a good chance for me to catch up with him.

“I told him in person with everything, all the process, etc., which he knew anyway via [Masaya] Kaji-San [Toyota Global Motorsports Director].

“But it was important for me to again look at his eyes in person to just tell him. He was absolutely fine.”