Haas says experienced F1 driver a must

The American team's close tie with Ferrari has already meant the Maranello outfit's testers, including Jean-Eric Vergne and Esteban Gutierrez, have been linked with the outfit. 

It is also understood that Nico Hulkenberg is a key target, although the German could make the switch to Ferrari itself if the outfit drops Kimi Raikkonen and cannot get hold of Valtteri Bottas.

With no shortage of options, Haas has said that it does not need to move quickly, and is far from closing down on its final options.

"We have a list of 10 drivers we are watching," Haas told Motorsport.com during a visit to the FIA Sports Conference in Mexico.

"We'll talk to them in particular and we will see what works for us. We definitely want to have drivers who are currently competing on the starting grid, people with experience."

Small teams boost

Haas's relationship with Ferrari has already raised eyebrows, with the FIA having inspected its wind tunnel programme to ensure there was no breach of the regulations.

The new team is open in choosing to buy as much as it can off Ferrari, and Haas is convinced that the way it is approaching F1 may set a trend for smaller outfits in the future.

"I believe this relationship we have established with Ferrari opens a new path for bigger teams to find value in the smaller teams on the grid," he said.