F1 News: Haas Boss Expresses Rookie Driver Problem - "More Than A Handful"

Guenther Steiner says there's no place for rookie drivers in Haas.

After selecting two rookie drivers to race for the team in 2021, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner is of the opinion that it would be "very difficult" for him to repeat a similar lineup after finishing the year at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship. 

Haas finished last in the Constructors' Championship in 2021 after Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher failed to score a point for the team. The American outfit's intense result caused it to take drastic action. 

In 2022, Mazepin was dropped from the team, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine which paved the way for Kevin Magnussen. It then began to make sense to have more experienced drivers on board, and thus, in 2023, Nico Hulkenberg went on to replace Schumacher. 

Speaking to RacingNews365, Steiner revealed that he won't be opting for a rookie duo again. He said:

“[It would be] very difficult.

“I mean, I think we learned enough to say that two rookies is more than a handful. It would be very difficult.”

Both Haas drivers are currently set to race for the team until the end of 2024. With young drivers being out of the picture, the question came up whether young drivers would receive enough time in testing. Steiner answered:

“What is enough?

“Obviously you can say, no, but then again, we don't want testing because then we go out and test the cars and spend money, money, money.

“So I think now what a lot of these drivers are doing, they're running with the older cars. These older cars, they're still pretty fast cars. I think they can make experience that way if a manufacturer pushes a young driver.

“So they've got the opportunity there. And then you have got FP1s, but obviously, would the drivers like to have more possibility to learn about F1? Sure.

“It is what it is and I think with the compromise that they can run two-year-old cars, I think we are fine.”

In the 2023 season, Haas offered a chance to Ferrari Academy driver Oliver Bearman. He was given two FP1 tests during the Mexican and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekends as a part of a rule that requires F1 teams to offer their car's seat in two practice sessions of the season.