BAKU, Azerbaijan, ⁠Sept 24 (Reuters) - American Formula One team Haas are evaluating a number ⁠of drivers and will finalise their 2027 line-up within the ‌next couple of weeks team, boss Ayao Komatsu said on Thursday, a day after the team’s under-pressure racer Esteban Ocon declared himself a “free agent.”

“We haven’t made any decision yet,” ​Komatsu told reporters on Thursday ahead of the ⁠Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“We still are ⁠trying to finalise what we’re going to do for next year.”

Race winner ⁠Ocon, ‌30, who joined Haas last year alongside Ferrari-backed Briton Oliver Bearman, on Wednesday said he was talking to other teams.

Multiple media ⁠reports, meanwhile, have identified Ferrari-supported Brazilian Rafael Camara, currently ​second in the ‌Formula 2 standings, as favourite to replace him.

Komatsu confirmed that Camara, ⁠2025 Formula ​Two champion and McLaren reserve Leonardo Fornaroli, Toyota-backed Japanese racer Ryo Hirakawa and the team’s current reserve Jack Doohan were all options Haas could choose from, ⁠with the team having run them in private ​tests in older cars.

“If that wasn’t the option, why do we test?” said Komatsu.

“We’ve done all the evaluations, so we’re just waiting to summarise our ⁠findings, have a discussion internally, have a chat with (team owner) Gene (Haas), and then we’ll take the final decision.”

When asked if keeping Ocon was still an option, Komatsu answered:“Yes. Like I said, we haven’t made any decisions ​yet.”

Responding to Ocon’s “free agent” comment, Komatsu said, “Every driver ⁠has, let’s say, a closing certain point in the year to decide ​on the option.

“It just means that we ‌haven’t decided on that option yet, but ​that was quite a long time ago.

“So his situation hasn’t really changed.”

(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Baku, editing by Ed Osmond)