Haas boss Guenther Steiner insists he is yet to consider his choice of drivers for the 2021 Formula 1 season, but will not rule out using a pay driver.
With the contracts of both incumbent drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean set to expire at the end of the 2020 season, Steiner could be in the market for a new pairing next year.
However in a conference call with reporters last week, the Tyrolean suggested it was too early to consider his drivers’ future, even if other teams have already done so.
“I think the driver market this year started early because of the moves from Sebastian at Ferrari, everything started early, but now it calmed down again,” he said. “We didn’t have any talks, we didn’t even start to think about drivers. We want to go back racing.
“We had so many things to sort out over this period, so the least of my worries was the drivers to be honest.
“For sure I wanted to make sure they are safe and good and everything, but not about what we are doing next year.
“It will come up pretty quick as we all know. At the moment, I have no answer to that one.”
Indeed, Steiner has made it clear he has more pressing concerns amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and while confident, isn’t even certain his team will be racing next year.
At the same time, he concedes that all options for his drivers remain on the table.
“We have not discussed this. We did not discuss drivers, so that means also we didn’t discuss pay drivers or anything.
“I don’t include or exclude anything. It was not discussed with Mr. [Gene] Haas yet.”