Steiner: We have two good drivers now, why change?

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has admitted he admires both Esteban Ocon and Charles Leclerc, but reading between the lines it seems that they will stick with their current line-up of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean for 2019.

This year Magnussen has had a strong season with Haas but Grosjean has been wayward, crash-prone and expensive, prompting speculation that his days are numbered with the team.

Leclerc, with his Ferrari connections coupled to the team’s cuddly relationship with the Reds, would be a logical choice for Haas but Steiner insisted that this is not how it works, “We could take him and we may decide not to take him, but we can decide that, it’s our judgement that counts. We are not told what to do.”

A clear statement that Ferrari do not dictate drivers to their customer team, but at the same time Steiner acknowledged their close ties to Maranello, “It’s more a philosophical thing for us. We have got a good partner in Ferrari.”

“I respect Ocon, he’s a very good driver, but why would we do that, to maybe get into controversial stuff about this?”

When asked about Leclerc, the team chief said, “There are a few serious candidates out there who still don’t have a seat. There are not many left, he’s obviously one of them but I don’t know what he’s going to do.”

“I have no information what he’s going to do, if he’s staying at Sauber, his contractual situation with them, or with Ferrari. He’s doing a great job, I think. He’s stepped up. Last year I wouldn’t say we were afraid about the rookie status, but he has passed that one. I have a lot of respect for the guy.”

Although Steiner has not closed the door on the two youngsters stepping into the grey cars next season, but at the same time indicates that he is satisfied with his current drivers Magnussen and Grosjean.

The team chief explained, “That’s why I say we’re very comfortable. It’s very difficult to explain to you guys how we feel. We feel very comfortable with the position we’re in.”

“We are not part of that madness. We’re in a good place. I would love to announce today who we’ll have, there are just a few things to figure out, and then we’ll do it.”

“We are still talking through it, we are not in a hurry at the moment. We’re just seeing how everything works out. We are very confident of the position we are in with drivers. We have nothing to hurry.”

Haas are enjoying one of the strongest seasons of their short history in F1, their VF18 is arguably the best of the rest and as a result piqued the interest of numerous drivers.

“I would say we had a lot of approaches,” revealed Steiner. “And I respect everybody approaching us. But the driver market is falling in place anyway. You know exactly what I’m talking about, who we have spoken about. But we still need to make our decision.”

“In the beginning it was difficult to find anyone to drive for us, now quite a few people want to drive for us for obvious reasons, so it has changed around.”

“Again I’m very confident and not losing any sleep about not having two good drivers next year. Because we have got two now, and they’re good,” concluded Steiner.