Guenther Steiner wants US driver Logan Sargeant at ‘the American team’ Haas

Guenther Steiner said one of his wishes is to see Logan Sargeant one day move to Haas as the young American driver prepares for his debut F1 season.

Over the last few years, Haas have been the sole American representative on the grid with their headquarters in Kannapolis, North Carolina but in 2023, their car will not be the only showing of the Stars and Stripes.

Sargeant will become the first American driver since 2015 as he makes his debut in the sport with Williams following an impressive F2 career.

But, a potential match made in heaven turned out not to be the case as, although Haas were on the market for a new driver, they opted against pursuing Sargeant, believing they needed a driver with more experience.

“Of course I would like to see an American driver with us,” Steiner told Texan broadcaster KVUE. “I think what we need to see is the development of an American driver, which is very difficult.

“We had the last two years ago with two rookies, last year with one inexperienced driver. And we as a team are still very young. And for us at the moment there is more performance to be gained for the team to make it better, to get ready, because at the moment there is no American driver with experience in F1. Therefore, we decided not to take an American again.”

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Mick Schumacher’s relative lack of experience, along with some expensive crashes, seems to have been the nail in the coffin for his Haas career with the team bringing in the veteran Nico Hulkenberg but Steiner did not rule out one day making a move for the young Sargeant.

In a year which sees three US races on the calendar and with Haas’ new American title sponsor behind them, it seems an American driver is the next step for the team and Steiner said that is something on his radar.

“There is now an American driver who is going to gain experience and he needs all the support he can get at the moment. And I don’t think at the moment it’s there.

“So hopefully it comes, because I wish that he makes experience and then once he has made experience, he comes to us, the American team. How about that?”

Despite a population of 331.9 million, there has been a relative lack of Formula 1 drivers hailing from the US. Sargeant is the first since Scott Speed and just the third to race in the 21st century.