Haas crew principal Gunther Steiner has expressed curiosity in having Logan Sargeant as certainly one of his drivers as soon as the American rookie builds up his Method 1 expertise – and positive aspects extra assist at residence.
Sargeant is graduating from Method 2 with Williams this 12 months and is because of turn into the US’ first full-time F1 driver since 2006. Haas’ rivals AlphaTauri additionally tried to convey a rookie American driver, Colton Herta, into F1 this 12 months, however he was unable to amass an FIA superlicence.
Haas joined F1 in 2016 and are the one American crew within the collection. Nonetheless their solely expertise of fielding an American-born driver got here in 2020 when their American-Brazilian reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi was referred to as as much as contest the final two grands prix. He raced underneath the Brazilian flag.
Steiner was requested by Texan tv station KVUE what it will take for Haas to run an American driver sooner or later.
“Completely we want to see it, however I believe the reply just isn’t a easy ‘what would it not take?’. I imply, what would it not take is a consequence,” he defined. “So I believe what we have to see is to make a improvement of an American driver, which may be very tough.”
Except for Fittipaldi, the one different rookies to look for Haas had been Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin in 2020. The latter was dropped earlier than final season started as a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, whereas Schumacher’s contract was not renewed following his second season.
“We had the final two years in the past with two rookies, final 12 months with one [inexperienced driver]. And we as a crew are nonetheless very younger. We’re nonetheless the latest crew in F1. And for us for the time being there may be extra efficiency to be gained for the crew to make it higher, to prepare, as a result of for the time being there is no such thing as a American driver with expertise in F1.
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“Due to this fact, we determined to not take an American once more. So what does it take? It could take an American driver which has expertise, and that isn’t there for the time being.”
Assuming he participates in each spherical on the 2023 F1 calendar, Sargeant can have began 23 grands prix and 6 dash races by the tip of the 12 months.
Steiner says Sargeant’s signing “is an excellent factor to see” however added he would “wish to see just a little bit extra assist” from America for the rookie.
“There may be an American coming to F1 and there may be not lots of issues round that. I missed that just a little bit as a result of everybody says ‘we wish an American driver, we wish to make a driver’. Okay, Haas hasn’t bought an American driver however I nonetheless assist Sargeant what he’s doing as a result of he places the toes in very chilly water right here. However there’s not rather a lot [of noise] behind it.
“So there may be, I might say, no American driver with expertise in F1. And there may be one which goes to make it, and he wants all of the assist he can get for the time being. And I don’t suppose for the time being it’s there.
“So hopefully it comes, as a result of I want that he makes expertise after which as soon as he has made expertise, he involves us, the American crew. How about that?”
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