09 January 2024 , 18:58
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Guenther Steiner admits he likes the look of Formula 2 starlet Oliver Bearman after the teenager took one of his Haas cars for a spin at the end of last season.
Brit Bearman, 18, made his Formula 1 session debut last year by completing two FP1 sessions for the American team. The Ferrari junior driver also took part in the post-season rookie test, again driving for Haas.
Steiner was effusive in his praise for the youngster, telling reporters how impressed he had been with his performances. "He's 18, but even if he got into an F1 car in 2021 it's still early, you know? He was very mature for an 18-year-old. But not trying to be mature," he said of Bearman.
"Sometimes, young drivers, they have got this wisdom which somebody tried to teach them. But no, it was actually himself. He was very chilled out about that as well what he was doing, so I had fun with him."
Steiner currently has a very experienced driver line-up at his disposal. Kevin Magnussen is part of the furniture at Haas, in his second spell with the team, while Nico Hulkenberg was impressive in his debut year, despite having joined following three full seasons without an F1 race seat.
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It is exactly the sort of situation the team principal wanted after declaring he was "done with rookies". It was no surprise that he felt that way, after dealing with the Nikita Mazepin situation and enduring months of questions about Mick Schumacher before replacing the underperforming young racer with Hulkenberg.
But perhaps his admiration for Bearman may make him change his stance. The Briton enjoyed a strong debut year in F2 alongside his first taste of F1 driving and will go into his sophomore season in the feeder series with ambitions of a title challenge.
Bearman is a Ferrari junior driver - the affiliation through which his Haas outings were arranged. The American team is a customer of the Italians and have fielded drivers who have come through the Scuderia's programme before - Schumacher being the most recent example.
It remains to be seen whether Steiner will want to make a change after the upcoming 2024 season. But with the driver market expected to be very active over the coming 12 months and both of his current racers out of contract in December, the Haas chief will no doubt consider his options at the very least.
He has already warned that some established drivers may be ousted up and down the grid this year. He said: "I think there's a big opportunity for young drivers to come in... Some of them, the drivers who are there now or will be at the end of '24, maybe stop doing it. Some of them will have not performed, nobody will pick them up."