Four drivers named on F1 axe shortlist as major 2025 decision looms

Guenther Steiner concedes his former team Haas needs to ask themselves if Kevin Magnussen is the “best” option for next season, but they’re not alone in weighing that up.

Although it was Steiner, as Haas’ team principal, who brought first Magnussen and then Nico Hulkenberg back into Formula 1, their results suggest they were miss and hit calls.

Guenther Steiner: We need to be open about that…

Additional reporting by Sam Cooper

Magnussen was the first out of the ousted drivers to be recalled and while he shone in 2022 when he was up against Mick Schumacher, against Hulkenberg’s his results have been lacking.

With Schumacher dropped at the end of the 2022 season to make room for Hulkenberg, Haas not only found their Mr. Saturday but – when the car and the tyres allowed – he was also their Mr. Sunday.

Scoring nine of the team’s 12 points, his tally couldn’t save them from another wooden spoon but, under new team boss Ayao Komatsu, it is on course to do just that.

Hulkenberg has scored 22 points in the first half of 2024 while Magnussen has just five points on the board, in fact he has more penalty points this season than he has World Championship points.

It has Steiner wondering if his comeback is over.

“We’ll see,” Steiner told select media, including PlanetF1.com. “I love Kevin… what he is doing lately against Hulkenberg is not impressive to say the least.

“We need to be open about that… Either Hulkenberg is so good that we don’t know about it or Kevin is just in the moment not where he needs to be to have a seat in F1.”

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But it is not just Magnussen’s head that’s on the chopping block.

VCARB have yet to decide if Daniel Ricciardo’s results warrant a second season, or even a Red Bull promotion. Red Bull haven’t made the call on whether or not Sergio Perez’s seat is open to the Honey Badger. And Sauber/Audi are debating Valtteri Bottas’ future.

“There is this time when you need to realise,” Steiner added, “there’s quite a few now if you look in there.

“We have got Checo, Danny, Kevin, Bottas. I feel Bottas is difficult to say something about because the car is not really good so we don’t really know where he is.

“But there is quite a lot of these guys and the people which give them a seat need to think about this, is this the best for the team?”

As for what Haas’ plans are amidst driver rumours and also Andretti or Toyota links, Steiner cannot say as he is out of the loop.

“I couldn’t answer it,” he said.

“I was there a long time and I still don’t know what he wants to do. I didn’t know last year, I didn’t know two years ago and I don’t know what he thinks short or long term.

“I can’t answer that, I don’t know.”

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