Mario Andretti: Haas F1should sign American driver
Racing legend Mario Andretti said this week he's urging the Haas F1 team to sign an American driver in an effort to increase the sport's exposure in the United States.
Haas F1 are currently yet to confirm whether or not driver Romain Grosjean will be returning for the 2017 campaign, and there remains further uncertainty over the future of its No. 2 driver, Esteban Gutierrez. The team have already signed teenage American Santino Ferrucci as a development driver, however, Haas has said the team are looking for a driver with more experience for 2017, which will be the outfit's second season in Formula One.
Alexander Rossi, the 2016 IndyCar rookie of the year and Indianapolis 500 champion, was previously rumored to be a candidate after he drove five races for Manor in 2015. However, Rossi was retained by the Andretti Autosport for the 2017 IndyCar season. Regardless, the elder Andretti thinks Haas have a responsibility to grow the sport in the U.S.
"Having an American team there, maybe some of that will change and I hope they do sign an American one day," Mario said speaking about not having a driver from the States on the grid.
"I think you have a vast fanbase here in the United States. Even for Formula One, I think it's understated. But I can see it really really magnifying if there was an American driver there, especially now there's the race at Circuit of the Americas.
"Alexander Rossi is one perfect example of one [American] talent being overlooked for some reason. He's done very well in GP2 and all that, he knows the circuits very well and has the experience. But when you're not considered by a top team there's no way you're going to be able to show what you can do."
Andretti lobbied for teams to begin introducing guest drivers during certain races, drivers who are familiar faces and names to the tack's locality.
"My first Formula One race was with Ferrari as a third driver, a top team. Imagine if one of our talents, even Alexander, would have been invited by Mercedes to be third driver at some events it might have been another story, he might have shown differently.
"Now, having done quite a good season here in the States and having signed for another season with Michael, it looks like he didn't have any offers from a top teams [in F1]."
Gene Haas, the team's owner, said there are no American drivers that meet the requirements his team are looking for at the current moment. He would only consider signing one who has garnered the appropriate experience of driving a Formula One race car for another team.
"If we had to do everything American, we wouldn't have enough money or enough time for anything," Haas said. "We're here really to build a race team. If an American driver came along to have the pedigree to do this, yeah, we would seriously consider that. But at the moment, there aren't any F1 drivers.
"You're always looking for experience. It's a driver's market right now because we've lost two very experienced drivers and the newcomers really don't have much experiences. There's lots of drivers out there but you take that chance of the unknown. There's a lot of people that can compete well in GP3 and GP2. They qualify well but racing in Formula One is a whole different sport."
