2025 F3 champion Rafael Câmara set for early Haas F1 debut at home

Rafael Câmara heads toward Formula 1 with the 2025 Formula 3 title behind him and a provisional lead in the 2026 Formula 2 standings. The 21-year-old Brazilian is set to make his Haas debut at the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix, a year earlier than planned. The opportunity opened after Haas sidelined Esteban Ocon following a clash in Mexico; Ryo Hirakawa was unavailable because of World Endurance Championship commitments.

Câmara was born in Recife on 5 May 2005 and started karting at six. He finished runner-up in the 2019 CIK-FIA World Championship’s OK-J class. Two years later he won three major titles in the higher OK class — the WSK Champions Cup, WSK Super Master Series and Champions of the Future — and was runner-up in the CIK-FIA European Championship.

In Formula 4 in the United Arab Emirates, he finished second, then came third in the Italian and German championships. He moved to the Formula Regional European Championship (FREC), finishing fifth in his first season before taking the title the following year.

His first year in Formula 3 was a title-winning one. In 2025, four wins, five pole positions and five podiums in 19 races brought him the championship. In Formula 2, he provisionally leads the 2026 standings with three victories, five poles and seven podiums, ahead of Nikola Tsolov, Alex Dunne and Gabriele Mini.

Câmara has been part of the Ferrari Driver Academy since 2022; Haas takes its power units from Ferrari.

Invicta Racing team principal Andy Robinson, who worked with Câmara in Formula 2 during 2026, praises his speed and feel for the tyres and says he is ready for Formula 1. Ferrari deputy team principal and Ferrari Driver Academy head Jérôme D’Ambrosio highlights Câmara’s maturity and self-knowledge, saying he knows what he wants and needs in order to perform.

Experts say Câmara needs to reduce his error count: at times, he judges overtaking moves too aggressively or makes small, avoidable mistakes. Robinson said those errors were the one thing preventing him from fully dominating Formula 2 in 2026.