When we met exclusively with G\u00fcnther Steiner, the sporting director of the future Haas F1 Team, in the Silverstone paddock, he told us that he wanted to establish his driver duo by the end of the summer, which means September. We have never been so close to the deadline, and the Haas director intends to stick to his schedule. The first piece of the puzzle will be unveiled next Tuesday, as a press conference has been called.<\/p>\n
It is also interesting to note that the team chose to hold this conference at its main factory in Kannapolis, United States, instead of at its European base in Banbury (in the former Marussia premises). This is a strong indication that the team wants to assert its American identity. It remains to be seen how many journalists traditionally covering F1 will travel to the United States after spending two weeks in Asia.<\/p>\n
The driver who is expected to be announced increasingly seems to be Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman indicated in Singapore that he was delighted to have made his decision for 2016. At the same time, Cyril Abiteboul, the director of Renault Sport F1, expressed regret that the driver did not discuss his decision with Renault, who is in the process of buying Lotus… Romain Grosjean has likely decided to move to Haas, with the prospect of having a chance at a Ferrari seat when Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen retires at the end of next season (if that is indeed the case…).<\/p>\n
His teammate will be a driver from the Scuderia, which has a strong partnership with Haas. While Jean-Eric Vergne seemed to be the frontrunner a few weeks ago, Esteban Gutierrez appears to have ultimately won out. His Mexican nationality, combined with his F1 experience with Ferrari and Sauber, make him an ideal candidate. At Spa-Francorchamps, he clearly indicated that he wanted to commit long-term with Ferrari while being able to stay in F1. If this is confirmed, the announcement will likely take place just before the Mexican Grand Prix in early November.<\/p>\n