Rafael Camara addresses key F2 question ahead of surprise F1 debut

Rafael Camara says a decision has not yet been taken on whether he will sacrifice the F2 title after his surprise call-up by Haas.

Haas has drafted its 2027 driver in early for the Sao Paulo GP in place of Ryo Hirakawa, who is racing for the WEC title this weekend, after Esteban Ocon was formally dismissed earlier this week.

In Haas's announcement, no mention was made on who will partner Oliver Bearman in Las Vegas, Qatar, or Abu Dhabi - with Camara on paper, set to go up against Red Bull junior Nikola Tsolov in Qatar and Abu Dhabi for the F2 crown. 

Camara currently leads the standings by seven points from Tsolov with the two rounds remaining, and given the complexity of running both series on the same weekend, it is likely that if Camara is given the F1 seat for the final three rounds beyond Sao Paulo, he would sacrifice the title.

However, speaking ahead of his grand prix debut, Camara insisted that no decision had been taken, and would not be until after the weekend.

"It is something that we will be discussing after the weekend, on how to prepare for the future," Camara told media, including RacingNews365. 

"But I'm not really discussing that at the moment, so I'm just making sure that we do a great time this weekend, and then after that, we will see what happens.

"I don't predict the future, so we will see what will happen. I'm just trying to finish the weekend with everything clean, and then after that, we will see what happens."

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Bortoleto wades in

Camara's good friend Gabriel Bortoleto won the 2024 F2 title, and had his say on the situation, as he indicated that the rookie should focus on winning the F2 title and having that prestige attached to his name.

"It is a good question, because obviously I was not in the same situation as Rafa, and I think having a title like F2 or F3 to your name, especially when only a few drivers have done it in their first year, is something you are proud to have," Bortoleto said.

"I know racing in F1 is important, but if you already have a contract signed for next season, that is his case- and I had it as well when I was still on the charge for my championship. I think having the F2 title is cool. 

"So I'm happy that I stuck to F2 and I did my F2 thing. I won the title, and now I can look back and be like: 'Okay, I'm an F3 champion. I'm an F2 champion, and now I'm in F1, and you have your time to learn. 

"Obviously, you want to go to your first season in F1 with the most knowledge possible to not make mistakes or make the least mistakes possible. 

"But you know, I think there is no real pressure on [Camara] to need to perform at this race, or you are out. That's not the situation. That was not my situation."