Haas will not rush to pick their second Formula 1 driver for 2023 as they don’t want to “regret” it later.
The American team has one of the few open seats left for next season, with growing speculation over the future of Mick Schumacher.
Daniel Ricciardo, Antonio Giovinazzi and even Nico Hulkenberg have been mentioned as possible options if Haas chooses to replace the German.
And team boss Guenther Steiner wants to be sure the decision he and owner Gene Haas makes is the right one.
“It’s not that we didn’t speak together about drivers or what to do but we decided to wait a bit – we are not in a hurry, we monitor the situation with Mick and see what is happening,” he said via Motorsport Week.
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“Why do we need to decide now anyway? If we decide now and make the wrong decision and we regret it why force ourselves to decide just because you want an answer?
“I think what we are looking is to bring the team forward – is it best to have a really fast driver or a solid driver that can carry everything along, there’s so many things in it, but the aim is obviously to take the team forward again.”
After being glued to the back of the grid last year, Haas has enjoyed a better season in 2022 and currently sit seventh in the Constructors’ Championship.
As a result, Steiner says more drivers are in contact about that second seat.
“Absolutely the cockpit is more interesting than last year, in 2020, when we let Romain [Grosjean] and Kevin go, I was the first one to tell them guys you don’t want to be here because it is a disappointing year,” he said.
“Now the car is better, and we get better with time, we are a much more interesting opportunity for a driver because he can show what he can do, and last year knowing it was a transitional year it was a perfect opportunity to learn about Formula 1.
“Obviously we have a long way to go but we are in a better position than last year.”
Another factor is the potential role of Ferrari in their decision, with Schumacher getting his seat at Haas due to his ties to the Italian team.
This week though it has been reported that Mick will not renew his contract as part of the Scuderia’s Academy after this year.
“I don’t know the contract he has with Ferrari and I don’t want to know,” Steiner responded.
“Ferrari would ask Haas to hang onto him and things like this, we will speak about, but we always speak to Ferrari and try to work together but they do not make the decision for us.
“You cannot make the decision for the other team because then you make it not work, that is the other thing.
“There are a lot of things that are pretty simplistic and we all know them but it is not like you can enforce something.
“Enforcing something sometimes, you don’t get the best result, it is counter-productive.
“We will try to find the best solution for us and Ferrari and if we cannot find it we will do something different,” he insisted.
“It is not like I can tell you what to do and I can ask you what to give me. A collaboration exists in finding the best compromise for both parties.”