Jack Doohan is in the running for a full-time seat at Haas for the 2027 Formula 1 season but Ayao Komatsu is yet to make a decision.
Doohan finds himself with a chance to return to the paddock with Haas after becoming the Banbury-based team‘s reserve driver at the start of the season.
The Australian was sacked just seven-races into his F1 career, last season, by Alpine.
Having severed his ties with the Enstone-based outfit, Doohan drove a TPC test for Haas at Jerez, this week.
Coming onto his social media handles, Doohan expressed his gratitude for the chance.
“Incredible feeling to be back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, massive thank you to the whole Haas F1 team,” he wrote.
Ayao Komatsu lays down the criteria for 2027 Haas F1 driver line-up decision
Doohan’s stint with Haas comes as an audition for the Australian. But he has tough competition to disarm with the likes of Ferrari junior Rafael Camara and McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli also conducting a TPC audition for Haas earlier this year.
Team Principal Komatsu has laid down the criteria based on which a decision will be made on the team’s 2027 driver line-up.
“I’ve always said we take drivers by performance, so performance comes absolutely first,” he had told media including Motorsport Week.
“If two drivers have got equal performance, affiliations or the packages they’ve got matter.
“But we never take somebody who is three tenths slower, but who has got affiliations with Toyota or Ferrari, or got five million more [in sponsorship].
“We’re not going to do that, so it’s all about performance first.
“If it’s within tenths, for instance – or very, very close – then the affiliation package does come into play for sure. I think we can choose by performance.”
The Japanese engineer also revealed that the decision is imminent but not to be expected anytime soon.
“I don’t know. Not next week, shall I say,” Komatsu said.
“I think we’re in a very fortunate situation. There are so many drivers interested in our seat, really.”
Esteban Ocon, therefore, finds himself in the midst of losing his full-time F1 credentials by the end of the 2026 season.
READ MORE – Jack Doohan credits Haas for handing him ‘platform’ for F1 return
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