Sergio Perez to the Haas F1 Team, why not?

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Somewhat hidden beneath the surface of all conversations this weekend in Mugello, Italy, about Sebastian Vettel replacing Sergio Perez on the Racing Point Formula 1 team for 2021, was the discovery that Haas F1 could actually be the next team to pull the trigger a constellation expresses change.

Haas F1 team boss Günther Steiner approached this line without crossing it during the media availability of the team representatives on the Friday before the Grand Prix of F1 Tuscany on the weekend.

While Steiner didn’t go as far as to say a driver change was taking place, he did admit the team was window shopping. And Sergio Perez looks pretty shiny in the window right now.

“He’s a good racing driver, but we’re just looking,” said Steiner. “Right now there are a lot of candidates we’re talking to, thinking about, and we just have to make one decision. It’s pretty good for a team to be in the market because you have a lot of things to pick up .

“We are in no rush to do anything and we just think about it. We come to a conclusion with an answer when we are ready.”

It might be time to try something different with the Haas F1 Team.

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One thing that is pretty obvious. The current line-up does not work. Romain Grosjean, who has been with Haas since his first F1 race in 2016, and Kevin Magnussen, who has been with Haas since 2017, haven’t exactly gotten any bigger in the rear-view mirrors of the front runners.

The new free agent Perez has scored more points himself this season (and he has missed two races after testing positive for coronavirus) than Haas drivers Grosjean and Magnussen have scored together in the past two years.

And of course Haas was apparently carried away by the illnesses of the technical partner Ferrari. However, in 2019 Ferrari was second in the F1 Constructors’ Championship and Haas was a dismal ninth with a similar Ferrari performance.

The almost five-year-old Haas team is still aiming for its first podium. The team didn’t show promising results until 2018 when it finished fifth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship. That turned out to be a slip on the radar when the team fell back on a step out of the basement of the series in 2019.

Outwardly, Gene Haas was a patient man when it comes to his Formula 1 team.

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This year the team has only scored one point (OK, technically two points, but the team has been penalized for giving instructions to driver Magnussen that cost the team a point) and are doing whatever it takes to last Slow down the pace Williams. This is not the kind of performance team owner Gene Haas expected when he began his F1 journey.

Haas is co-owner with Tony Stewart, one of the most successful NASCAR teams. Haas is a winner, and Steiner – the only team boss the F1 team has known – doesn’t sound like a front runner admitting that Haas will forever be a backmarker in Formula 1.

Therefore, the sudden interest in Sergio Perez is justified and should delight Haas fans.

“I don’t want to go through all the criteria,” said Steiner. “But it has to be a package and what we have to see, how do we want … what do we want to do in the future? What’s the best thing about the team? We’re not just thinking about next year.

“Then, if you don’t think twice, it’s pretty simple: you’re trying to find the fastest man as soon as possible. But we’re thinking about the next five years, now that we’ve signed our Concorde deal. So, we I want to rebuild that we’re going back to the 2018 results. That takes a little more time to think about it: Financial, talent, lots of things come into play. And here we are. As I said, we’re in no hurry. “

On the flip side, team owner Gene Haas, 67, is not getting any younger.

From the outside, it’s easy to bring in Perez, especially through Grosjean. If Haas is considering another five-year plan, 30-year-old Perez is four years younger than Grosjean.

If Haas wants a driver to be used to scoring points, Perez has scored the points in his last 14 starts. Grosjean hasn’t scored in his last 18.

If Haas wants someone to get on the podium, Perez has had five podiums since 2013 and Grosjean one.

If sponsorship is a problem, pick the guy who makes the most money, but don’t annoy fans by saying talent evaluation is a big deal. Hopefully talent and track record still mean something to a team that says they want to be competitive.

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