Kevin Magnussen has no teammate choice for F1 2023, as Guenther Steiner is still in deciding mode for Haas.
Having made his F1 return, Magnussen is in a safe place for 2023 with a seat intact at Haas. But his teammate is an unknown factor with Mick Schumacher not yet confirmed amid rumours of multiple drivers in the frame to join the American outfit.
For Magnussen, he has no choice about his teammate and has left it on Steiner to decide. For now, the Dane is happy to partner Schumacher and he doesn’t want to get into the speculation mode to create headlines and headache for Haas.
“Pretty obvious; of course we need fast drivers and drivers that are consistent, can score points, can help drive the team forward but I think right now we have me and Mick and it’s not going too badly, I think so I don’t really have any strong opinions either way,” said Magnussen. “It’s up to Guenther and of course the management to sort that one out. I’m not here to speculate or be involved in that.
“I’m not here to really take part in that. I don’t really have an opinion on that. I think Mick is doing a good job and that’s all I can say,” summed up Magnussen. It is not a new situation for Haas in terms of driver decision but for Schumacher it is.
Having made his debut with Haas, he has had an up and down years with Haas so far. The German did show his good side against Nikita Mazepin in a year when the team were not competitive. But so far in 2022, it has been inconsistent certainly for the German.
He has shown glimpses of solid performances, but he has had crashes which has hurt Haas. This is one big reason why Haas is still in deciding mode. “It hasn’t been decided yet,” said Steiner to German portal SpeedWeek. “We are considering what is best for the development of the team.
“Do we only look at the technology or also the driving element? To be honest, we don’t know if Mick will stay or not. He has delivered very good races in Canada, England and Austria. But he lacks the consistency, he should often perform well. We’re in no hurry on the driver issue and Mick still has chances to show what he can do,” summed up Steiner.
Amid news of Schumacher not continuing with Ferrari, that closes one door as well for the German to be with Haas as a partnership deal. But it is not clear if that has any bearing on his independent status at Haas, but the German has competition from others.
Names like Antonio Giovinazzi, Robert Shwartzman and Nico Hulkenberg has been doing rounds, with the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries also available in the market. “I’ve talked to most of the possible drivers, that’s my job too,” said Steiner when asked about if Hulkenberg can return to F1 with Haas. “Nothing concrete yet.
“In any case, we only want to take the smallest risk for the development of the team. You can take a big risk, which is great when it works, but bad when it doesn’t. Regarding having experienced drivers, it would [help to have one]. But there are none of those who are currently driving on the market. Except maybe for Ricciardo. His form isn’t great at the moment and we don’t know what he’s up to. Maybe he’ll sit out a year. As I said, I talk to everyone,” summed up Steiner.
Here’s Nyck de Vries with his side of things
