F1 News
Steiner explains "close call" between Grosjean and Hülkenberg for Haas seat
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
After having announced Haas will not be changing its driver line-up for the 2020 season, team principal Guenther Steiner has explained why he has opted to retain Romain Grosjean in favour of the available Nico Hülkenberg, who is currently without a drive for next season.
With performances having dipped massively in 2019 and with Grosjean in particular having made mistakes during several race weekends, many thought the French veteran's time was up at Haas after this season. Especially when Hülkenberg became available, despite his checkered past with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
Eyebrows were raised earlier today when Grosjean was announced to be retained, and Steiner has now explained why the team decided to stay with the 33-year-old.
"It was a close call, you know, because they are both very good drivers and I hope Nico stays in F1," Steiner was quoted by Motorsport.com.
"But in the end we decided to stay with Romain. He is with the team for four years, we know his highs and his lows. We know on a good day he’s a very good driver. He knows the team very well.
"The biggest reason is our car this year is not performing as we want it to perform - which in the end has nothing to do with the drivers we’ve got at the moment. It’s the car, we’re very conscious about that."
Steiner added, when pressed on the decision, that he didn't know if Hülkenberg even would have wanted to sign for Haas, as the American outfit never laid a contract on the table for the Le Mans winner.
"In the end, I want to clarify that - we decided to take Romain but I don't know if Nico would've come.
"We spoke but we never made a formal offer. So I don't know if he would've accepted or not, that you need to ask him."