Drivers from the United States have criticised Haas team principal Guenther Steiner over comments he made where he said there were no US drivers ready for Formula 1.
The Austrian recently told Motorsport concerning US drivers: "It's not on top of our list, it's on top of our list if there's a good one. Obviously, we want one. But then maybe, if there is a really good one, would they come to us?
"Just having an American driver who maybe cannot compete at a certain level is maybe not good for the sport. [Signing an American driver] would be an ambition, but at the moment there is nobody ready for F1 in the United States in my opinion."
Haas does have 19-year old Santino Ferrucci on their books as a test and reserve driver but has yet to see an official outing with the team. Haas has been reluctant to dip into the driver pool stateside despite the raft of talent within the IndyCar series, leading many to question how genuine they are in wanting to bring American drivers onto the world stage.
Graham Rahal took to Twitter to say: "American drivers are damn good. I stand by that, there’s lots of talent here. Stay in IndyCar, it’s far more competitive anyway!
"Always funny the Haas team mentality. 'Americans aren’t good enough', yet they haven’t even given us a shot. Not worth our time."
Conor Daly added: "How can you possibly call yourselves an 'American' team and totally berate your entire 'home' nationality of drivers? There hasn’t even been a hint of consideration of any well established American drivers over here."
While 1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti simply added it was "Wrong and arrogant".
Even Britain's Max Chilton believes it is wrong to overlook the 'world class' talents in IndyCar having left F1 to go to the US and feels it is necessary for a culture change to get IndyCar drivers noticed in F1, he told ESPN: "Scott Dixon, who was my team-mate last year, I think he's one of the best drivers in the world and he could give anyone a run for their money in a Formula 1 car – but no one has ever given him a look-in, like when there was a seat going at Mercedes.
"It needs a culture change for them to look at IndyCar drivers as a possibility, and I hope there is because there are world-class drivers that are being wasted and could be doing even bigger things in the public eye in Formula One and doing better than some of the people already there."
Discussion about this post