Three teams and three interests are pulling at the same cockpit. McLaren wants the drive for reigning Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli. Ferrari is lobbying Haas to take its junior Rafael Câmara. And Toyota, whose title sponsorship of the American squad expanded for 2026, sits in the background as the reason a Japanese driver, most obviously Yuki Tsunoda, keeps being mentioned.

The man in the seat is running out of runway. Esteban Ocon had scored just three points through the 2026 campaign at the time of The Race’s mid-season audit, while team-mate Oliver Bearman had 18. Bearman is also ahead in qualifying and races, a gap the same outlet estimates at more than 0.15s per lap over the season. Team principal Ayao Komatsu has offered no public defence.

“Nobody is satisfied with Esteban’s sporting results last year,” he told The Race.

Fornaroli has the momentum

Fornaroli is 21, Italian, and has won two junior titles back to back: FIA Formula 3 in 2024 and Formula 2 in 2025. McLaren picked him up as a reserve for 2026 but has no cockpit to offer him with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in place. Haas is the logical door, and it is now half-open. Fornaroli has already completed a two-day private test in the 2025-spec Haas VF-25 at Jerez, an unusual investment in a driver on another team’s books.

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McLaren boss Andrea Stella has been vocal about him.

“When he gets in a car, be it a simulator, be it in the TPC car, or in a free practice one session, he is fast,” Stella told MotorBiscuit.

Komatsu praised the McLaren programme around Fornaroli.

“Clearly what McLaren’s doing with Leo is a very good programme.”

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A letter of intent is reportedly in place enabling a loan.

Ferrari pushes hard for Câmara

Rafael Câmara is the answer if Ferrari gets its way. The 21-year-old Brazilian is a Ferrari Driver Academy member racing in Formula 2 with Invicta Racing and was third in the championship when the story surfaced at the start of July. Haas already runs Ferrari power units and hosts Ferrari-backed Bearman on loan, so a second Ferrari-flavoured seat would fit the team’s existing plumbing.

The doubts are sporting. Câmara has not been booked for a Haas TPC test, and the paddock reading is that another F2 season would do him no harm before an F1 promotion.

Tsunoda’s Honda-Toyota problem

Yuki Tsunoda is the third name, and the most complicated. He has five full F1 seasons behind him before Red Bull swapped him out for Isack Hadjar ahead of 2026 and returned him to a reserve role.

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An experienced hand is exactly what Haas would want alongside the still-developing Bearman. The complication is corporate. Toyota’s expanded title sponsorship for 2026 has made the team a Toyota-affiliated outfit, and Tsunoda’s career has been carried from the start by Honda. A Honda-to-Toyota crossover is not impossible, but it is awkward enough that his name is usually mentioned last.

Komatsu draws the line at performance

Asked directly whether nationality could tilt the call towards Fornaroli, Câmara or a Toyota-backed Japanese driver, Komatsu was blunt.

“Honestly, that’s not a main concern. All we want is drivers who can produce maximum results for us,” he told Autosport.

“We’re not going to put in somebody who’s slower because he’s Japanese or Italian or whatever, we don’t care.”

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Haas holds an option to extend Ocon’s deal into a third year. On current form, few in the paddock expect it to be picked up.

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