But team confirm they won't make an announcement at Austin
Tuesday 27 October 2015 17:20, UK
The embryonic Haas outfit have delivered their strongest hint yet that Esteban Gutierrez will take their remaining race seat for 2016.
The America-based team, due to join the grid next season once their entry is formally ratified by the FIA, the sport's governing body, next month, have already announced they have recruited Romain Grosjean from Lotus to spearhead their first year in F1.
An announcement confirming their full driver line-up for 2016 has been ruled out at this weekend's United States GP but, speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, team boss Guenther Steiner has given a heavy indication that Gutierrez will fill the vacancy.
Asked what type of driver the team was looking for, Steiner replied: "Someone who has driven an F1 car, of the current generation, money is always important because it costs a lot of money, and North America is a nice place for a driver to come from."
Gutierrez would certainly fit the bill. Mexican, laden with sponsorship and a veteran of driving for two years at Sauber between 2013 and 2014, the 24-year-old is currently a reserve at Ferrari, with whom Haas will form an advanced technical partnership next year which will even extend to using the Scuderia's wind tunnel.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has described the Haas model as a "very intelligent way of entering Formula 1" and the team are targeting finishing either seventh or eighth in the Constructors' Championship next year. But Steiner has set the team's targets far higher than mere respectability once they are firmly established on the grid.
Questioned whether Haas had designs on usurping Mercedes at the top of F1, Steiner acknowledged: "That has to be the plan. You cannot not enter any sport or competition without wanting to win it."
