Haas aim for September signings

Haas hopefuls such as Alexander Rossi will have to wait until after F1's summer break to learn whether they have a seat for 2016.

Next year the Haas team will enter Formula 1, confident they won't be lapping at the very back of the field but rather challenging for points-finishers.

Who will race the team's cars has been one of the main questions ever since Gene Haas announced his plans.

However, the drivers – and fans – will have to wait until September to learn the team's line-up.

"Our plan is to be clear of talks by August/September and then announce them," team principal Gunther Steiner told Autosport.

"The market is getting clearer and a lot of people are getting into contact with us now, because it's both ways.

"We are in no hurry, because we have to see who is on the market, who is doing good and who wants to move.

"And drivers want to see who we are actually. Now they see more and more that we're doing the right things."

Steiner, who previously worked with Red Bull and Jaguar in F1, reiterated that while the team wants an American racer, they also need a driver with experience – a "known factor" – to help push the team forward.

"We are looking at American drivers, but being American doesn't give you an automatic drive.

"If you are good, it's fine. Otherwise if you just pick an American because he's American and you're not successful, it's not good for the driver to start off with.

"It's not good for the team and it's not good for the programme in general, and the country because it is like 'Oh, they cannot get it done.'

"An experienced American would be something different, but there is nobody out there and what we need is somebody who needs to guide us a little bit as well, that we know where we stand.

"We need to have a known factor in this team. The team is new, everything is new, so if you throw in new drivers – if we have a problem we don't know where we got it wrong."