Maini "too young" for F1 test, says Haas chief

GP3 race winner Maini joined the Haas ranks as a development driver at the beginning of the year alongside American racer Santino Ferrucci.

While his role with the US-based team brings up the possibility of driving an F1 car in the near future, Steiner doesn’t see how it will help him develop as a racing driver.

"We looked at Arjun back then and we were convinced that he has the talent,” he told PTI. “Getting him into a F1 car would attract good publicity but it won't help him at this stage of his career. He is still too young for it."

Steiner believes Maini’s prime focus should be on the F1-supporting GP3 Series, where he sits ninth in the standings after a topsy-turvy season.

"Let him focus on GP3 and we will see where we reach at the end of the year. He was in the simulator for the first time this month. We will take it step by step.

“Getting into a F1 car when he is doing GP3 doesn't really help a lot. Both cars are very different to drive.”

Steiner added that Maini will eventually get his first F1 test, but once he has racked up sufficient experience in the junior categories of racing.

"We can always put him in the car when he is ready to take the next step, F2 or something similar which gets him closer to F1," he said.

“As I said, it will be good publicity if he drives an F1 car right now but it doesn't develop him as a driver.

"So we are not thinking about the publicity but are more interested in finding the next Indian driver in F1."

Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok remain the only two Indian drivers to have raced in Formula 1, although neither of the two were able to get hold of a competitive seat during their respective stints in Grand Prix racing.