Who could occupy the Haas seats for 2021?

It is very evident that Haas F1 is fed up with its two underperforming drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. The team fell on the grid from one point in fifth place in the overall standings and a battle for points to a relegation with Williams and Alfa Romeo to last place.

Team owner Gene Haas considered pulling the plug on the team after 2020 by not signing the Concorde deal. Citing the declining performance of the team and the unrest between the driver and team boss Günther Steiner, it seemed as if the first American F1 team had only existed for five seasons in decades.

However, by luck or divine intervention, Haas will stay on the grid and so will his team.

It would be no surprise that the American outlet will try to clean the house and start over, crowding out Grosjean and Magnussen for someone new. Who could they be looking at for the 2021 season? While anything is possible in F1, here are five logical options as to who might take a seat in Haas F1 next year.

Pietro Fittipaldi

Formula 1 is a legendary name in the world of motorsport and has not seen a Fittipaldi at the wheel since Emerson Fittipaldi retired in 1980. But for the 24-year-old American-born Brazilian racing driver, pairing with Haas would be a match made in heaven.

Pietro has driven everything from new production vehicles to endurance cars to IndyCar and was even test and reserve driver for the Haas F1 team in 2019-20. He has been associated with the Ferrari development camp since around 2014, although he has not officially joined the academy. However, his brother Enzo did.

What makes this move useful for Haas is the fact that Fittipaldi knows the cars. As the team’s test and reserve driver, Fittipaldi has spent a lot of time in cars both at the factory and on the track. He also brings the legendary backing of one of the most iconic families in motorsport, the name alone is one that will score big points with fans around the world. In terms of funding, it’s unclear whether Fittipaldi has any substantial backing, but the brand name alone means it shouldn’t be a hard sell.

Callum Ilott

Running in Formula 2 for the UNI-Virtuosi Racing Team, most experts may have forgotten that Ilott exists. With F1 facing tough competition among the five other Ferrari Academy’s drivers, Ilott’s successes have flown under the radar.

The 21-year-old Briton, who will take part in his first F1 training session at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix in Germany, set the world of the F2 on fire. Ilott has three wins this season and is in second place in the drivers’ standings. What makes Ilott a great choice for Haas is that unlike Fittipaldi, he has proven himself at the junior level. However, Ilott has only had one winning season. That hasn’t stopped anyone yet and it shouldn’t stop Ilott as the youngster will try to use his F2 knowledge as well as his skills to finally prove himself on a larger scale.

While some people conclude that Mick Schumacher is the logical choice over Ilott, it seems increasingly clear that Schumacher will take Kimi Raikkonen’s place at Alfa Romeo Racing as this team is more closely associated with Ferrari. It would be exciting to see Schumacher and Ilott compete against each other on Sundays to see who will climb the ladder faster.

Louis Deletraz

The last young driver on the list, Deletraz, is the son of former F1 racing driver Jean-Denis Deletraz. He joined Haas’ development program in 2018 to complete a test session in Abu Dhabi during which he completed over 117 laps. Haas promoted Deletraz to the team’s official simulator driver for 2019.

For 2020, the Swiss rookie was again promoted to test driver for the 2020 season alongside Fittipaldi. While Deletraz doesn’t have any F2 wins, that hasn’t stopped anyone from climbing the ranks of the F1. While I think Deletraz is the most unlikely option, the most important thing he speaks for him is that he has the most diverse portfolio of experience with the Haas team.

It is very likely that he will be back in F2 in 2021, but stranger things have happened.

Nico Hulkenburg

After being kicked out of Renault to make way for the arriving Esteban Ocon, it left a sour taste in Hulkenburg’s mouth. Racing Point would sit out at the beginning of the 2020 season and bring Hulkenburg in to relieve Sergio Perez after testing positive for COVID-19.

It was so impressive that almost every team with a vacant seat would want to pick it up, with ALFA-Romeo listed as the alleged front runner. However, Haas could make a push to get Hulkenburg to help develop their cars and possibly develop a young driver like Ilott, Fittipaldi or Deletraz.

Hülkenburg would be a fantastic addition to the Haas team, especially with the new cars arriving next season. Although he has never won Formula 1, Hulkenburg is one of the best drivers who are currently unroddened. He has stated that he would like the chance to drive in Formula 1 again and driving for Haas could earn the opportunity to compete in the future.

Sergio Perez

It was shocking to see Perez retrieve the boot from his pre-contracted Racing Point seat, but if a team has a chance to bring Sebastian Vettel and your second driver is the team owner’s son, your fate is as good as sealed .

While Perez said he doesn’t want to drive in F1 because of the limited number of seats, if he really wants to keep driving he has to soak it up and take every chance he can get. After all, Perez doesn’t have any F1 victories or even podiums. While Perez is a driver who has not been associated with any team, if he does not sign elsewhere, it is likely that he will find himself in the Red Bull camp.

If Haas can snap up Perez it would be an extremely good find. His expertise and skill are a remarkable talent, as is his knack for not falling. However, the lack of reliability at Haas could be a major hurdle for Perez to join the team.

Who do I think will come to Haas?

In my opinion, Fittipaldi and Hulkenburg would be the most likely option if they decide to fire both drivers.

A rookie and a veteran would be a perfect combination to add to the team. The two could easily make a great partnership together and should Haas change their aggregate it could bring the network back up again. My prediction might be right or wrong, but time will tell.

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