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Steiner on possible 2023 duo: 'Fans would love that'

Steiner on possible 2023 duo: 'Fans would love that'

22-09-2022 19:29 Last update: 23-09-2022 08:59
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GPblog.com

The Haas team has not yet made a decision on who will drive next year alongside Kevin Magnussen. Team boss Günther Steiner, already indicated that the team will wait a while before announcing the second driver as the team is not yet sure about a future for Mick Schumacher

Hulkenberg last drove a full F1 season four years ago. Still, the German proved to be a good fill-in driver when he drove three Grands Prix for Racing Point in 2020 and scored 10 points. The two times he was allowed to fill in at Aston Martin this season because of Sebastian Vettel being felled with the corona virus were not so successful. Still, it seems he has done enough to make it onto Haas' shortlist. The team is now considering replacing Mick Schumacher. The German has scored just twice in the 37 races he has driven.

Steiner told opposite RTL that "most super-licensed drivers" are on his list, with the Haas team boss hinting that he is opting for experience this time after spending two years with young drivers. In 2021, Haas drove with the duo of Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. Mazepin was replaced by the experienced Magnussen this season after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Risk

"What can a driver contribute to make the team better and take us to the top?", Steiner said of his criteria for choosing the second man alongside Magnussen. The Italian team boss says with a young driver you often take more risks because you don't know how far someone can go.

However, he thinks fans would love it if he put Hulkenberg in the car next to Magnussen, thinking about the past. The German confronted Magnussen in the so-called 'TV pen' after he pushed him off the track during the 2017 Hungary GP. The verbal altercation between the two drivers caused a stir when the Dane said 'suck my balls, mate'. The two cleared the air earlier this season when they met again Hulkenberg in the paddock in Bahrain.

The team boss was also asked about Daniel Ricciardo leaving McLaren at the end of the season. "In his situation, Daniel must first decide for himself what he is going to do," Steiner said. "It makes little sense to persuade him to do something, he has to decide for himself. "If he feels like it, he will definitely call, otherwise he will probably say: I will take a sabbatical or something else."

Fifty-fifty

Just because he is shopping around does not mean Schumacher is out of the picture. The Italian says his chances of keeping his seat are "fifty-fifty". "You put yourself under pressure and we don't need that, we are only playing against ourselves," he added. "We don't actually have time pressure at all, everyone has time pressure, but we don't. That's an advantage we don't get rid of."