Breaking news
Formula 1
Haas decided to drop both F1 drivers "two or three weeks ago"
Haas Formula 1 team boss Gunther Steiner says that no decision has been made on next year’s drivers, despite today's confirmation that Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean are leaving.
Adam Cooper
Edited: Oct 23, 2020, 7:15 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Steiner says that the commitment to make a change was made “two or three weeks ago” and communicated to the drivers by him last week in order to give them a chance to find alternative employment.
Rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, both of whom are associated with a commercial package, are believed to be the top candidates for the drives, unless there’s a change of plan and the team opts for one experienced driver like Nico Hulkenberg or Sergio Perez.
“I think we wanted to be fair to them," said Steiner of today's announcement about Magnussen and Grosjean.
"We could have kept it for us for a while, and then just do it. But I think the guys were good with us in the last years.
“We said we’re not going that way, we’re going to do some changes, and therefore we want to tell them so they’ve got a chance to find something else.
"If we tell them only whenever we decide who is going to drive the car, it could be the end of the year, and they would have a lesser chance to find something for next year.”
Asked to clarify the timing he said: “I would say we made a decision about two, three weeks ago," adding "I called them last week."
Read Also:
- Grosjean to leave Haas F1 at end of 2020 season
- Magnussen also announces Haas F1 team exit
- The latest state of play in F1's 2021 driver market
Steiner acknowledged that it wasn’t easy to drop two drivers who had been with the team for so long.
“It is very difficult," he said. "As much as we've had ups and downs in our relationships, in the end you don't stay with people for this long time, four and five years, if you don't like them. So it's always difficult to do these things.
“But in the end, I need to look after the team in general. And they both were very understanding. I mean, for sure, they were not happy. Who would be? But they had a good understanding, and they know that we gave them a good run at it, as well.
"In the end I think there is no bad blood running between us, and we want to get to the end of the season.
“I need to look out for the whole team. And that is why I have to make these decisions. That's part of my job, even if it's a difficult thing to do.”
Steiner declined to comment on who was still on the short list. Asked if the team was looking for drivers with money, he conceded that there could be a commercial element to any deal.
“We could be as well, money and talent. I mean, talent always needs to be there, not only money. So talent is very important, or more important, but some people have got sponsorship they bring with them. So we are looking at all the options out there as well.
“There are quite a few opportunities out there. And they're not going away, because the market is pretty small this year. And I think we are lucked into that one this year. So that is the reason why we are not in a hurry to make the announcements.”
Steiner admitted that two rookies, rather than a balance of youth and experience, is a possibility.
“If you have got a very good experienced one, and a rookie who finds it difficult to find his way, he loses his confidence. Is that good? No. Look at what happened to a lot of people who were in the same team as Max [Verstappen].
“They all struggle, because he is so good, and then a rookie comes in and it’s not good for him. Maybe two rookies is a good thing, I don’t know that yet.
“That is one of the things we are evaluating as well, do we need one experienced one or not, or can we do it with two rookies?
"Sometimes, just trying something different, it helps as well to learn about it, and sometimes learns that you shouldn’t have done it as well. I’m fully aware of that one.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Stroll's doctor diagnosis was done over the phone
Next article Russell "not concerned" about Williams future amid Perez links
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Romain Grosjean
Romain Grosjean apologises to McLaren after controversial, unfounded comments
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Romain Grosjean apologises to McLaren after controversial, unfounded comments
Winners and losers from the IndyCar doubleheader at Milwaukee
IndyCar
IndyCar
Milwaukee Race 2
Winners and losers from the IndyCar doubleheader at Milwaukee
Mick Schumacher and Romain Grosjean talk on pit road after Milwaukee clash
IndyCar
IndyCar
Milwaukee Race 2
Mick Schumacher and Romain Grosjean talk on pit road after Milwaukee clash
More from
Haas F1 Team
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Why it's now Oliver Bearman versus Rafael Camara for the next Ferrari vacancy
Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Esteban Ocon responds to Haas signing Rafael Camara for F1 2027
Latest news
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Race 1: An unstoppable Lewandowski dominates to win Race 1
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
1 h
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Race 1: An unstoppable Lewandowski dominates to win Race 1
Why Cadillac F1 boss provoked fresh intrigue by dodging driver question
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Why Cadillac F1 boss provoked fresh intrigue by dodging driver question
Lamborghini World Finals | PRO-PRO/AM Qualifying: Pole position for Lind, Bamber, Van der Drift and Marcelli
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
2 h
Lamborghini World Finals | PRO-PRO/AM Qualifying: Pole position for Lind, Bamber, Van der Drift and Marcelli
Jorge Martin's endless ordeal since signing for Aprilia
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
3 h
Jorge Martin's endless ordeal since signing for Aprilia
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe