Haas will race with an all-new line-up in 2021 after it was announced last month that reigning drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen will both be leaving at the end of the season.
It is widely expected that Ferrari Junior and current F2 leader Mick Schumacher will take one of the places on the team.
Schumacher is expected to be supported in Haas next year by his F2 colleague Nikita Mazepin, who would bring significant financial support to the team as long as he earns the required super license points.
The move takes place for two rookie drivers, although seasoned names such as Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg are available in the market.
Steiner, team boss of Haas, emphasized that no final decision has been made regarding the line-up for 2021, but said that the advantages and disadvantages of two rookie drivers had been weighed up.
“We didn’t decide on two rookies, but I can easily explain my thoughts on two rookies to you,” said Steiner.
“We discussed this, the risks, the opportunities with you. There is obviously a risk that two newbies who have not yet experienced you will look at these [for] the dates and stuff. You have to find out what is going on between them and there is a risk of it going wrong.
“But the pros are that you can take them in the direction you want them to go and they grow with the team.
“Because it was never done, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. Certainly there is a risk that it won’t work. I don’t want to be ignorant.”
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It would be the first time in Haas’ five-year F1 history that a driver without prior Grand Prix experience has been signed.
Before he signed Magnussen as a partner of Romain Grosjean for the 2017 season, Haas made his debut a year earlier with ex-Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez.
Steiner said he was used to asking questions about Haas’ approach to driver signing, citing previous criticism of the decision to keep Grosjean for so long.
“We did a few things differently than others,” said Steiner. “A few years ago I was asked, ‘why do you keep Romain for so long? Because no one has kept anyone that long’.
“We don’t have to do what other people have done. We will do what we think is right and whether it works or not we will be judged by it – no one else.
“We are taking this risk and taking this opportunity. So if we were to take two newbies, we would have given it up.
“We know the pros and cons and we will deal with them if we go that route.”
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