Formula One is now owned by an American company, has an American team on the grid, and an American race on the calendar – and it’s eager to add more. So will an American driver be next?
Not just yet, says Haas team principal Gunther Steiner. It “would be an ambition, but at the moment there is nobody ready for F1 in the United States in my opinion.”
Asked by Autosport if the US-based team is interested in adding an American driver to its roster in the near future, Steiner said, “It’s not on top of our list. It’s on top of our list if there’s a good one. Obviously, we want one.” But “Just having an American driver who maybe cannot compete at a certain level is maybe not good for the sport.”
The last American driver to compete in a grand prix was Alexander Rossi, a now 26-year-old Californian who won titles in Formula BMW, finished second in GP2 (now F2), test-drove for Caterham in F1, and contested five races (without a point to show for it) for Manor/Marussia. He then went on to win the Indianapolis 500 in 2016.
He was the first American to race in F1 since Scott Speed, who also failed to score a single championship point in two years on the grid with Toro Rosso. He’s since gone on to win three back-to-back titles in the Global RallyCross Championship.
The only F1 world champions to hail from the United States have been Mario Andretti and Phil Hill. Most of the other Americans to have raced in Formula One competed when the Indy 500 was counted as part of the championship.
For its part, Haas seems content with its current lineup. The team has retained French driver Romain Grosjean for a third season and Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen for a second, both having driven for more established teams before coming to Haas. “They are both worthy of staying,” said Steiner. “Do either of them want to stay? That’s the next thing. There is a lot of factors which come into that. People want to say we take somebody else, but no. We’re not. We are fine.”
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