Haas boss Guenther Steiner has hinted that the team is ready to move on from at least one of Kevin Magnussen or Romain Grosjean in 2021.
Magnussen and Grosjean have been Haas teammates since 2017, but as of yet neither has been re-signed for next season. Haas has plenty of options, with Mexico’s Sergio Perez a free agent after Racing Point decided to replace him with Sebastian Vettel next season, and the likes of Nico Hulkenberg and Antonio Giovinazzi also likely to be available.
Ferrari, Haas’ engine supplier, also has academy prospects Mick Schumacher, Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman impressing in F1 feeder series Formula 2, leading to speculation that Haas could pair an experienced driver alongside a rookie.
Steiner has hinted that the team’s decision will be made with the long term in mind.
“Some of the drivers have been in Formula One already a long time,” Steiner said in a column for The Race. “Will they be the best drivers in a few years? Maybe not. Maybe there’s young talent we need to develop for then.
“That’s where there is a fine line. We all have a sell-by date performance-wise, especially an athlete, and we need to be careful that we don’t invest in something that when we really need it, they’ve surpassed their peak.
“For me what’s important is that we have drivers who will be here in 2022. If we put in somebody next year just for a year then we are just wasting our time. There are a lot of drivers who are used to the current spec of car, but if we have a new car and a new driver, it could get difficult, so I would like to have for ’22 the drivers we have in ’21.”
Although he did not give a specific deadline for the decision, Steiner said he hopes to have the line-up confirmed in a few weeks.
“We are still having talks with people; we are not just sitting here and thinking. I think the decision will come in the next few weeks hopefully, because we need to tell people. I don’t like to keep people on standby.”