Former Haas CEO Guenther Steiner claims that if he signs Oliver Bearman, a junior driver for Ferrari, he will rescind his opposition to rookies in Formula One.
After replacing Carlos Sainz at the last minute for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last weekend, Bearman made an impressive F1 debut.
The 18-year-old British driver defeated Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris to finish sixth on race day after almost missing out on qualifying.
After a challenging period, when Haas – under his direction – fielded two rookies in Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Steiner notoriously took a “no rookie” position.
The Haas team decided to hire veteran Nico Hulkenberg in lieu of Schumacher during Steiner’s final season as team manager.
Following Bearman’s heroics in Jeddah, Steiner writes in his column on the official Formula One website that he would give him a racing place.
He wrote, “I’d put him in a race seat based on his performance in Jeddah and after what I saw from him at Haas.”
Of course, that depends on the situation and the availability of seats. He would be a candidate, but you have to look at the big picture.
“He might not succeed 100% of the time. There is yet a chance. However, given that he just had an hour of practice, the manner he performed in qualifying and the race in Jeddah shows that there is a lot of risk.
Steiner believes Bearman’s display will eradicate “a lot of the doubts” over his level of performance.
“For prospective employers, that drive will have taken a lot of doubts away of what he is able to do,” he added.
“He’s in a good place as at the end of this year, there are a lot of contracts up with drivers, so he can put himself in good a position. He can’t go anywhere he wants, but I believe there is more than one opportunity for him.
“He has a contract with Ferrari, I don’t know how long it is. If you were interested in him, you’d go and speak with Ferrari and see what they want to do and see if something can be achieved. You of course need to see what is happening in your team with the drivers. Do you want him or are you happy with what you’ve got?
“I think a lot of teams will proactively look at him now after his performance last weekend. If I see the potential, other people will see it as well, so I think there is a good possibility for him to get a seat next year.”
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