Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner says that he is in no hurry to confirm the team’s driver lineup for 2017.
Romain Grosjean is expected to stay for a second season, but there is still a question mark about the future of Esteban Gutierrez.
“We will be ready when we are ready, put it this way,” said Steiner. “We’re not in a big hurry, so we’ll just take our time.”
Steiner admits that several drivers have been in contact with the team, which is no longer seen as an unknown quantity by established names: “I think we’ve created a little bit of interest driver-wise, which is a compliment. A few people are speaking to us who maybe a year ago thought, why should I go there?
“The driver market is not very big with Felipe and Jenson going, so there’s a demand there. It’s a good thing for the young drivers, we get some fresh blood in it, and some people can shine. Still people look around. Everybody thought that if one made the move, everything would happen, but nothing happened. It’s very strange.”
However, despite voicing his support for youth, Steiner believes that it would be too early to promote test driver Charles Leclerc, who has done three FP1 sessions this year.
“He’s too young, in our opinion. He’s very good, but I think it’s better to do another season in either GP3 or GP2. I have no say in his career, it’s [his manager] Nicolas Todt, and I think he agrees with me on that one.”
