Haas "could handle a rookie" - Steiner

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said the team has now evolved to a stage wherein it could "handle a rookie".

The Haas boss said in 2019 that, "if we had two rookies or a rookie, it wouldn’t help us, because we are a little bit lost where we are with the tyres and a rookie doesn’t help you."

Now on top of the tyre issues of last year, Steiner admitted the situation has changed.

“Yeah I would say so, we could handle a rookie," sad Steiner. "That is not an issue.

“When they come to F3 and F2, they are always very prepared anyway.”

He added: "In [Charles] Leclerc’s [rookie] year, we weren’t prepared for a rookie, because we needed to evolve the team.

“But I think now the team see we can handle anything.”

Pietro Fittipaldi and Louis Deletraz are listed as the reserve drivers for Haas in 2020, but it's Ferrari academy driver Robert Schwartzman that has caught the attention of Steiner.

Having taken the Formula 3 title in 2019, the Russian currently has taken quickly to F2, and tops the standings after the first six races.

Of Schwartzman, Steiner commented: “He’s doing pretty well. He’s won two races in total. I think he’s doing very well, and he won the [F3] championship last year."

Current drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean are both out of contract at the end of the season, but Steiner confirmed: “At the moment, I’m not hiring anybody.”

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