Formula One: Gene Haas comments on American drivers

Haas Formula One team owner Gene Haas has commented on the readiness of his team for American drivers to potentially drive for them.

A few weeks ago, Haas Formula One team principle Gunther Steiner made comments that there are no American drivers who are ready to compete in Formula One, and as such, it is not the team’s priority as the lone American Formula One team to sign an American driver to drive for them.

As expected, these comments almost immediately drew criticism from those all over the racing world, particularly in IndyCar, since there are several talented American drivers who would have a great chance to succeed in Formula One if given the right equipment.

Haas team owner Gene Haas, who also co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, offered his own thoughts about the subject and stated that he believes his Formula One team is simply not ready for an American driver to drive for them.

Haas came to Steiner’s defense by stating that he believes that this is largely due to the fact that the team does not yet have competitive cars and that there is simply not enough development time that the team could offer an American driver to make the transition to Formula One.

Haas claimed that this is what Steiner was aiming to get across as opposed to simply bashing American drivers, which is how many people interpreted his comments from a few weeks ago, and justifiably so given what he said.

Here is what Haas had to say about the matter, according to Racer.

"“The fact is that we’re still learning here in Formula 1, and bringing on a driver who needs to learn about Formula 1 probably isn’t the best thing for us or them. I felt like there were times last year where our drivers were better than our cars. So, we need to step up, but we know where we need to improve thanks in large part to the experience of our drivers.“We’re not saying no to having an American driver…This debate about American drivers really isn’t a debate. I believe in American drivers – my NASCAR team is full of them, and we’ve won a lot of races and championships.“Obviously, the discipline is different, but sure, there are competent American drivers who can compete in Formula 1. But we’re not ready for that yet, and with the limited amount of testing teams have, getting anyone up to speed who hasn’t already been a part of a development program would be hard. I think that’s the point Guenther was trying to make.”"