Almost 10 drivers under consideration for 2021 Haas seats

2020 Tuscan Grand Prix Ferrari 1000

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Nearly 10 different drivers are under consideration for a place at Haas next year, according to team principal Guenther Steiner.

They include the team’s current drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, both of which said they have not started discussions about their futures yet.

“We need to see what we want to do and then decide what what we’re going to do,” said Steiner. “I don’t think there’s many seats free at the moment anyway, so that is on my side.”

There are “close to 10” drivers the team is looking at for 2021, he said. “It’s amazing what is around in the moment.

“That’s why you see me very calm, you know, because there is only 20 seats and we have got 10 potential people which could do the job. Two of them we have got already so we’re down to eight and two of them you know anyway.”

Grosjean and Magnussen have driven for Haas since 2017, making them the longest-running partnership in F1 at the moment, along with Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. However Steiner is considering “everybody that’s on the market” as an option for next year.

“We’ll lay everything on the table and then we see what we want. But it’s a general principle question: What do we want to do? Do we want to keep to drivers we have got? Do we want experienced drivers? Do we want to start with young drivers? Do we do a mix?

“Everything is on the table. And the table gets fuller and fuller by the day in the moment. Which is a good thing because then you can have a choice and choice is always good.”

Magnussen said he hasn’t begun discussions over his future at the team yet. “You never really know,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “That’s one thing I’ve learned in Formula 1, you can never be sure.

“So you just have to do your best every time you’re in the car and then wait and see what the future holds. There is some some very good drivers in the market, it’s a competitive market at the moment. But I don’t worry about it too much, I just try and do my best on track.”

Grosjean said the team hadn’t opened talks with its drivers yet as it “was focussed first on getting the Concorde Agreement and so on, which is more than understandable.”

“And now being in a triple-header and so on it’s just difficult to get time to speak about it,” he added.

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    68 comments on “Almost 10 drivers under consideration for 2021 Haas seats”

    1. So… Magnussen, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Perez, maybe Kvyat… presumably also Ilott, Shwartzman, Schumacher, maybe Zhou? Four seats, if you include Alfa Romeo and about 9-10 drivers.

      A lot of those guys are either ready for F1, deserving of F1, or still have a lot left to give. F1 badly needs at least two, maybe three new teams.

      1. sounds about right, yeah @rocketpanda Could be a guy like Mazepin is being considered too.

      2. I wonder if Nyck de Vries is on the radar of any of the teams.

        1. That ship has sailed. Once you’re out of that bubble, it’s nigh impossible to get back in.

          Besides, while he has some decent results, it’s not like he’s setting the world on fire in FE.

        2. If I could have any newcomer, it would be Nyck de Vries. @coldfly @aiii

      3. Perez is the ticket. Who else could bring such a talent and such a deep pocketed sponsors in a budget cap era? best of two worlds, if you ask me.

        1. Checo would do well at Haas

        2. They need to sign Hulkenberg and Perez. They were a really strong midfield pairing.

          1. They need Grosjean or Magnussen for speed, Checo for consistency.

    2. Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
      10th September 2020, 17:55

      Ilott and Schumacher to Alfa , Shwartzman and Perez to Haas?

      1. Lenny (@leonardodicappucino)
        10th September 2020, 18:05

        2 rookies to Alfa seems unlikely, as Ferrari only have control over 1 seat.

        1. Then make it Hulkenberg…
          ..or another year of Kimi keeping/extending his race count record.
          @leonardodicappucino

        2. Under the current agreement, but that could change if they made an agreement to take two FDA drivers…

      2. Ferrari only get 1 of the seats at alfa

    3. Hulk and Perez to Haas recreating the duo.

      1. Berger and Alesi to Haas recreating the duo and borrowing Mr. Steiner’s car for an extensive test.

        1. Jose Lopes da Silva
          11th September 2020, 15:06

          That one was nice. I don’t remember another duo moving at the same time to a different team.

          1. I percieved Alesi and Berger as some funny and unlucky duo when I was a child, but they were much better than that. I still remember how angry they were with the car ending many of their great fights.

            They are quite good friends as I read. The story of them “borrowing” a car is one of the most incredible F1 stories I ever read, so if you missed it, it’s worthy to read. I won’t link it as it’s from another site with similar profile, but it’s the first hit if you google “Berger on Alesi”.

            1. Jose Lopes da Silva
              12th September 2020, 9:06

              Thanks a lot. Now I understand where does Jean Todt’s crusade for road safety ;-)

              We have to say the truth: guys like Prost and Senna were a few steps ahead of Alesi and Berger regarding the attention to detail. When Berger talks about the kids attention to detail – well, it started with Lauda and Piquet, and now it’s mandatory for everyone. It’s just part of the sport’s history and evolution, you can’t go back. But yeah, they’re true icons for the fans!

    4. If they don’t sign perez then they are mad, and I would go with an experienced driver like nico hulkenberg as they are not having the best time and experience counts for alot when building a better car.

    5. Hah, I almost read this as him saying “we’ll take anyone over the 2 clowns we have now”.

      I used to rate K-Mag, and we all know Romain is incredibly capable when on form… Problem is, both have smaller operating windows than P-Zero tyres, and that window only opens once in a blue moon.

    6. Haas had pretty good options in past couple of years, yet they’ve stuck with current lineup. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did the same this time too.

      1. I know I’ve been thinking the same thing. Not sure if drivers are going to make any difference for Haas but ppl bring up good points regarding Perez’s sponsorship cash.

      2. Seems like too much talent / talent with sponsorship money floating around for no change but it does seem to show that Haas acknowledge the machinery carries most of the blame for the performances of both drivers.

    7. Haas 2021.Sergio Perez, Callum Illot
      Alfa Romeo: Mick Schumacher, Robert Schwarzman

      1. I think Haas: Grosjean and Perez
        Alfa no change

        1. My dream F1:
          Merc: Hamilton, Russell
          McLaren: Norris, Ricciardo
          Racing Point: Bottas, Perez
          Williams: Lundgaard, da Costa

          Renault: Alonso outscores Ocon

          Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz
          Haas: Ilott, Hulk
          Alfa: Shwartzman, Schumacher

          if the current form of drivers and results going on like this:
          RB: Verstappen, Gasly
          AT: Albon, Tsunoda

          Meanwhile Zhou needs to win some races at F2 to get promoted, even if not winning yet is partially due to bad luck, but time is on noone’s side in the end.

          Meanwhile Vettel goes to DTM, and KMag goes to Indy as he is baller enough to go ovals and quite regular 3wides. Kvyat goes to prototype racing with SMP. Kimi sadly retires and wins the Andros Ice trophy and a lot of snowmobile and jet ski races :P

          This way I had to transfer the least drivers to the shrinking top tier of prototype racing, even if tose seats are interesting too. Looks like I have quite extensive dreams, but now I have to wake up now because some managers are knocking the door for their fair share, and they are not used to wait until the end of the F2 season to collect that. Although in my dreams leaders telling them to wait quite patiently.

        2. Let’s not omit the omitted :)

          Grosjean goes to a WEC project of Alpine, and as a former competitor of Andros Ice Trophy he sometimes challenges Kimi there. Giovinazzi becomes a Salo-like test driver of Ferrari. Latifi becomes a test driver for Williams. Ticktum gets to a safe distance from F1 by joining Santino Ferrucci as a teammate in Indy (and after a few seasons both will retire for good).

    8. Nearly ten? So 9.

      1. 9 plus Grosjean’s phantom driver.

    9. Maybe Heikki Kovalainen if you just run down the Amazon list of lies…

    10. Haas: Perez, Illott would be my picks. I haven’t been impressed with either of their current drivers for a couple seasons now.

    11. I doubt they will dump both current drivers somehow. I expect they would want some continuity. They seem to be quite conservative in their approach.

      1. The car will be the same next year and won’t get developed. They can throw away both current driver’s without consequences.

      2. If they are worried then they can replace 1 driver to have a benchmark. So Magnussen and Perez but expect Perez in a seat.

        1. Magnussen Perez in Haas and Hulkenberg Shwartzman in Alfa

    12. I want them to sign a new driver so that I won’t say “Really” for the third time.

    13. The cheaper drivers will be attractive in a time of plague and a shortage of cash.

    14. Grosjean has to go at the very least. I’m still on the fence about KMag.

    15. Perez is worthy of he drive at Haas, perk is that he also brings money with him.

    16. I like Gunther, he’s good value, someone you could go down the pub with. However, I do feel that his time at the helm of Haas has come to an end. I take my hat of to him for making Haas what it is today, but the performance of the team has stagnated in the last couple years. I feel he’s done all he can, brought the team as far as he can.

      The drivers havent been consistent and the strategy has been sloppy. Sure its good fun watching the debacle unfold on Netflix, yes the drivers have been quite poor, but who employs the drivers?

      Grosjean should have been dropped at the end of last season, this constant hope that he will re-discover his pace is wearing quite thin. He produces 1 or 2 good drives the entire year, that simply is not good enough. KMag is good value too, the odd swashbuckling drives he puts on are very enjoyable, but once again, not consistent enough.

      The lifeblood of a team like Haas are points. When you have drivers who seem incapable of scoring them when opportunities present themselves, you know you’ve got to try something different. Haas need drivers who are capable delivering consistent results each race weekend. Their current duo do not offer this.

      Perez and Hulk should be in serious contention for these seats. Not only does the former bring a large cash injection, both are consistent drivers who deliver more of than not. This seems like a no brainer to me.

      1. So… what you’re saying, @jaymenon10, is… Grosjean, KMag and Steiner are back next year, because in the Haas portfolio, Netflix ratings are top of the list. ;-)

      2. There would not be a Haas team if it wasn’t for Steiner! But then again, Craig Pollock isn’t really mentioned in the “them was the days” nostalgia of the seeds of BAR-Brawn-Mercedes’ success.

        I guess no one is talking about contract length for Vettel because Perez has demonstrated that multi-years are worthless to RP anyway. Haas did say a while back that they were considering both current drivers as they can’t be faulted for a bad car (we’ll see).

    17. Perez and his Carlos Slim money seem an obvious choice, but the second seat is certainly interesting. Hulk is up for it, as is Vandorne, who was unlucky in the timing of his first F1 outing. I expect Hass to go with two “old hands” rather than rookies, just not the same old two hands that have proven themselves to have “butter fingers”.

      1. Spelling!

        1. Haas, Vandoorne. Gotta get your double vowels right :)

    18. Nell (@imabouttogoham)
      11th September 2020, 5:23

      Ferrari isn’t providing them with a faster engine next year, most likely. They should just take the Perez sponsorship money and punt on whoever is F2 champ (most likely a Ferrari academy driver).

      They need to create buzz around their driver pairing, which as of late has been very uninspiring.

    19. We need to get the missing three teams on the grid, simple as that.
      Places for the developmentally programmed to grow, and keeping the daddymoneyboyos out of the good seats.

      1. Looks like Mazepin Sr is still looking for a team having missed out on Force India and Williams. Can we introduce a “silver spoon” championship too? Stroll, Norris, Latifi…

    20. Checo and the hulk at Haas

    21. No discussion on car design and technical development expertise.
      If I understood some of the discussion around the new “Copy-Paste” rules following Tracing Point’s successful doppleganger creation, that next year Haas will have to design and build their own car. If that is the case, they will need technical resources. Yes, some of this can be bought from Dalara and others, but they will need to do more than they have been doing for car development.
      Time to start poaching resources and planning gardening leave.

    22. Perez and Vandoorne would be my picks

      1. Would Vandoorne leave a potential championship run in FE for a backmarker seat in F1 though? And would Mercedes release him?

    23. So if Hulk is in the consideration why didnt he join this year? I mean, him and steiner did have a talk, but seems Hulk was too expensive.

    24. Haas: Magnussen and Perez
      Alfa Romeo: Hulkenberg and Schumacher
      AlphaTauri: Gasly and Tsunoda
      :)

      1. This sounds about right to me. It would be my guess as well.

        Haas: Grosjean had some really good years with Lotus after he got over his mental issues, but I think his time in F1 is coming to an end now. Perez has been more consistent than him over the years, and brings the cash as well. Also not sure Hulkenberg and Magnussen can be in the same team together :)

        Alfa Romeo: I hope Hulkenberg gets Kimi’s seat, as it’s time for him to hang up the helmet as well. Might they keep Giovinazzi though?

        Alpha Tauri: Can Tsunoda get the superlicence? I am not following F2 at all.

        1. I think Alfa can chose one driver for themselves and the other seat is chosen by Ferrari. I am asuming Kimi retires and Alfa choose Hulkenberg. Everybody knows Giovinazzi isn’t going to be Ferrari’s next superstar so they might aswell get Mick on the hype train and give him a chance in F1.

          Tsunoda is P4 in de standings in F2, so he will probably pick up quite some points for his license. I just don’t see AlphaTauri continuing with Kvyat, because there is not much potential in him in the Red Bull programme.

        2. What happened to Juri Vips?

          1. Vips just debuted in F2 and it looks like he deserves that, as his placements yet: 11,11,11,9 and now he qualified 7th for Mugello’s feature race. I’d say that’s a very decent mid season debut, it would be a shame not to give him a drive for next season in F2.

    25. Haas will leave F1 so that will solve the problem.

    26. Jelle van der Meer (@)
      11th September 2020, 9:10

      If I was Haas I would go for Hulkenberg and Perez – that gives you talent, experience and sponsor money.

    27. Those of us with longer memories will recall the last time someone claimed to be in talks with ‘almost 10’ drivers at the same time. Fortunately, unlike Stefan GP, Haas at least have an entry for next season. And a car.

      1. Jose Lopes da Silva
        11th September 2020, 15:10

        :-D LOL! Indeed

    28. Perez should be a no brainer really.

    29. Jose Lopes da Silva
      11th September 2020, 15:12

      Haas: Grosjean and Perez
      Alfa Romeo: Hulkenberg and Schumacher
      AlphaTauri: Gasly and Tsunoda

      Much like @jesperfey13, but I think Haas will keep the developer guy. And I would rather Shwartzman but you have to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Michael Schumacher debut.
      Tsunoda in Alpha Tauri is a no brainer.

    30. The first guy to be replaced should be Steiner. He can’t put together a team that can change tire or figure out fuel strategy or prepare a car that can run for 90 minutes. I’d definitely keep K-Mags…drop Dirty jeans… and then find new leadership. Use next year to get reorganized in hopes that Ferrari can get their head out of their ass for 2022.

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