Ferrari gives Câmara key Barcelona F1 test

Ferrari’s post-Barcelona program appears to have become more than a Pirelli tire exercise, with the team reportedly extending its stay for a private Thursday run in last year’s car for Ferrari Academy driver Rafael Câmara as it weighs a possible Formula 1 path for him through Haas.

The extra outing gives the clearest indication yet of how Ferrari is using this week in Spain on two fronts. One is official manufacturer work for Pirelli’s 2027 tire development. The other is driver evaluation, with Câmara getting another chance in an older Ferrari at a time when reports in Italy link him to a potential move onto the F1 grid next season.

AutoRacer reported that Ferrari’s schedule did not end with the Tuesday and Wednesday tire sessions and that Câmara was due to drive the SF-25 in a private test on Thursday. The same report said he had already run with that car in Hungary last month, making the Barcelona outing part of a broader program rather than a one-off appearance.

That matters because Ferrari is said to rate Câmara highly inside its academy structure. AutoRacer reported that the team’s internal preference is to place him in Formula 1 next year via Haas, Ferrari’s partner team, effectively using that route as his entry point into the championship. Framed that way, another private test is not just reward for recent progress but practical preparation for a possible promotion.

Câmara’s timing is notable as well. He arrived in Barcelona after taking his first Formula 2 victory, and Ferrari’s decision to put him back in the car immediately suggests the team wants to keep accelerating his mileage in machinery closer to F1. Reports from Italy go further, describing a belief inside Ferrari that he already has the conditions to make the step.

Any move involving Haas would have consequences beyond Ferrari’s academy ladder. AutoRacer said a push to create space for Câmara could place Esteban Ocon under pressure, with the French driver described in the report as being in a poor moment while also carrying a high salary. Ferrari has not publicly outlined any such plan, but the link between extra testing and a possible Haas seat gives this Barcelona run significance beyond simple preparation laps.

The official part of Ferrari’s week still carried weight in its own right. Pirelli said Charles Leclerc completed 134 laps on Wednesday in development running for 2027-spec slick tires, covering 624 kilometers and setting a best time of 1:16.619. The work took place in punishing conditions, with track temperatures reaching 57 degrees Celsius and ambient temperatures climbing to 34 degrees.

Pirelli’s program focused on evaluating new tire structures and performance over both shorter comparison runs and longer stints, part of the validation process for the 2027 rules cycle. Ferrari’s role in that effort gave the team substantial data-gathering mileage, but the reported decision to add Câmara on Thursday changes the feel of the whole week.

Instead of leaving Barcelona with only tire-development data, Ferrari appears to have turned the same trip into another benchmark test for one of its most closely watched juniors. If the team is serious about placing Câmara with Haas next year, these sessions are starting to look less like routine academy rewards and more like the groundwork for a real Formula 1 promotion.