How rough diamond Camara feels ahead of 'very surprising' F1 home debut

Several months ahead of schedule, 2027 Haas Formula 1 debutant Rafa Camara intends to soak in a "very surprising" home debut without succumbing to the Brazilian pressure

If Rafa Camara felt any nerves about making his F1 debut earlier than expected, on home soil no less, then he didn't show it.

The Ferrari junior has been drafted in to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas next year, and already starts that journey this weekend after Ocon's high-profile split with the team halfway through the Mexico weekend.

Counting against Camara this weekend, the 21-year-old Brazilian has never driven a 2026 F1 car before with all its quirks, has never raced at Interlagos before and is coming into the weekend with few opportunities to prepare. Camara was actually slated to conduct FP1 for Ferrari, so he had at least completed some simulator work in Maranello.

What's counting for the current F2 championship leader is his immense potential. During a private test with Haas in Portimao, Camara was so quick that regular driver Oliver Bearman struggled to match his times and that blew Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu away enough to hand him the keys for next season. Camara has always been seen as a future star by Ferrari, perhaps the biggest raw talent coming through the driver program but one needing a layer of polish.

Whether or not that varnish has had a chance to set remains to be seen. But in front of throngs of international and local media, both in his print huddle and in the FIA's press conference, the somewhat shy Camara looked anything but overawed by the occasion.

"I was very surprised," Camara said when asked by Autosport about receiving the phone call to jump into the VF-26 this weekend. "Definitely not a place where I would expect to make my debut in Formula 1, but just very happy for the opportunity, very grateful as well for the team to put trust in me this week. So I'm just trying to enjoy the home race and have some fun out there."

A home debut, especially on short notice with little preparation time, is always a baptism of fire. It wasn't all that long ago when recently crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli crashed in Friday practice at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, and was left drained by the attention around his Imola homecoming last season.

"There will be a lot of things going on," Camara acknowledged the surge in media and attention since his drive was announced. "But I think it should be all right. Whatever people are speaking [about] or what's happening outside, it's never been a real problem. I always try to just focus on my side, focus on things that I can control, and whatever is happening outside is not really under my control. So I just really try to go there and do what I know what to do."

What helps is that with a 2027 drive already in the bag, Camara knows he can focus on kickstarting his preparation for next year, rather than feeling the urge to go out and prove himself, or be tempted to do too much.

"I'm just really trying to learn as much as I can," the reigning FIA F3 champion said. "There will be a lot of things going on, but I think on my side I just try to see it as a positive note. Just driving at home is something that I didn't do for a long time. So I'm just really trying to enjoy this weekend and just have some fun. Obviously it will be not easy, but I think what always helps for me is just really focus on my side, focus on my job, and make sure that every time you're learning and moving forwards."

As well as filling his experience back for 2027, Camara is trying to make sure he doesn't forget to stop and soak it in the occasion, too.

"Once I joined F3, where you get more exposed, the support from the Brazilian fans was really big. And it's always been nice to see how much they cheer and how much they support you," he said.

"Just being able to do my first F1 race here in front of everyone, would be something very special. For sure, I'll try to give them a nice weekend."

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- The Autosport.com Team

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