Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner believes Formula 1 needs more teams that are willing to be development bases for young drivers as they struggle to break onto the grid.
Currently, there is a number of drivers in F2 and elsewhere that have either given up or are stuck in junior and other series as money and a simple lack of options available prove unassailable obstacles.
Over time there has been a number of teams that have been considered stepping stones for young drivers with Minardi, which became Toro Rosso in 2006, one of the most famous examples.
The arrival of HRT, Caterham and Manor in 2010 also offered options with drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, Jules Bianchi, Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon all making their debuts with one of those three teams.
Unfortunately, with costs rising, none of them could stay afloat and with the other midfield teams desperate for as much sponsorship money as possible it has become even harder for the potential talents of tomorrow to climb the ladder.
“The difficulty for young drivers is they need to be in the right time at the right place,” Steiner was quoted by Autosport. “There is nothing else you can do for it, at the moment you cannot even buy a cockpit.
“When Minardi was around, Minardi was maybe happy to be last, that was their duty to bring drivers up. Maybe they were not happy to be last but they could live with it because that was their business model: to develop drivers, that’s a good business model.
“It’s like when Ricciardo drove the HRT [in 2011], you knew he was not going to do anything but it gave him experience and that’s not there anymore.”
During their existence, the smaller teams were often criticised for lacking the ambition of a top team and getting in the way some five-plus seconds off the pace but without them, drivers, who won junior series like GP2 or Formula Renault 3.5 as they were known and earned their chance to test themselves at the top, were unable to do so.
“It’s maybe a good thing we don’t have these teams [running at the back], [but] maybe it’s a bad thing too,” Steiner commented.
Two drivers also very much caught up in the waiting game are Ferrari juniors Charles Leclerc and Antonio Giovinazzi. Both are considered future stars with the Scuderia, with Giovinazzi now the third driver and Leclerc dominating in F2.
However, it seems likely only one will get the chance to earn experience in F1 next year as the Italian team consider making Sauber their platform for young drivers.
Some would argue they could already challenge for Kimi Raikkonen’s seat but Steier understands why Ferrari and also Mercedes are unwilling to put trust in youth.
“I think they [Leclerc and Giovinazzi] are both good guys, with very good potential,” said Steiner. “Between Ferrari and Mercedes (who have Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon on their books), the next good guys will come out of one of them.
“[But] how they get into a seat is difficult, Formula 1 in that respect is very difficult. F2 to F1, it’s a different ball game, it’s such a big gap. You need a little bit of learning.
“To put Charles or Antonio straight away in a Ferrari, it’s a big risk. It can go well, but there are bigger chances it goes wrong because the expectations are so high,” he added.
“The sport is so complex, you make mistakes when you’re young because you don’t have experience. You cannot buy experience – you need time.”
