Steiner defends Haas over ‘pay driver’ claim

Guenther Steiner has defended the Haas team’s decision to hire a driver in Nikita Mazepin who brings significant funding with him.

Mazepin has been dismissed in some quarters as a ‘pay driver’, one whose financial benefits can be construed as outweighing what he contributes in terms of talent.

The Russian is the first driver to be confirmed byHaasfor 2021 as a replacement forRomain Grosjeanand Kevin Magnussen.

他的队友还有待证实,但它是expected to be Mick Schumacher in a line-up of two Formula 1 rookies.

Schumacher currently leads the F2 Championship and is favourite to wrap up the title in Bahrain at the weekend. The son of Michael Schumacher, the seven-time F1 World Champion, is 14 points ahead of Callum Ilott, with Mazepin another 29 points back in third.

Mazepin’s father, Dmitry, is a billionaire businessman who, two months ago, waslinked with buying the Haas team——随后被拒绝。

Haas team principal Steiner has insisted that just because a driver provides an injection of money, it does not mean he is not up to the job – and cited some credible examples.

Get your hands on the official Haas 2020 collection via the Formula 1 store

“There’s a lot of drivers who get into F1 thanks to financial backing,” Steiner toldAutosport. “There are very good drivers in F1 who in the beginning brought a sponsor.

“The first one to call is Checo [Sergio Perez]. Checo came to F1 and it was ‘he’s a pay driver’. Look at Checo now, he finished on the podium [Turkish Grand Prix], he’s doing a good job.

“George Russell for me is one of the best drivers, but without the help of Mercedes he wouldn’t be anywhere.

“There’s a lot of them there. Lance Stroll, he was on the podium [Italian Grand Prix]. If they are good in F2 and they have a sponsor, that’s a perfect solution.

“When I spoke with Niki Lauda a long time ago he said ‘I made it into F1 thanks to a bank which sponsored me so I could go and buy a drive’. I think it was BRM at the time. And he was a three-time World Champion.”

Steiner stressed that Mazepin’s strong F2 form has qualified him for the drive, adding: “I followed him the whole season, what he was doing.

“For sure he had a difficult start, and without that difficult start he would be fighting for the championship.

“So that’s what I see. I can’t see any more than that. Results always talk.”

Follow us on Twitter@Planet_F1and like ourFacebook page