Haas won’t hire an American driver for his F1 team

Anti-American Gene Haas won't hire an American driver for his F1 team unless he buys the ride

For the first time since 1986, an American Formula 1 team will compete on its home soil, but one question remains — when will a United States born driver lead the charge for Haas F1?

Team owner Gene Haas addressed the topic on Friday at the Circuit of the Americas but said fans may have to exercise a degree of patience.

"When we first started, this wasn't really important to me because in a global economy, especially in America, it seems like everybody outsources the best products and people from all over the world," Haas said. "Even today, if you look at the number of people we employ in Kannapolis, and employ in Banbury and even at Dallara, we have people all over the world and that's what makes Haas Formula One.

"I kind of think of my team like the United Nations. It's got people from all over."

Prior to the season, many believed Alexander Rossi to be the best American candidate, The 25-year-old Rossi spent several years in a reserve role at Caterham and Marussia and even made five F1 starts for the latter during its transition to Manor Marussia in 2015.

Haas hired Esteban Gutierrez who came with a big check from Carlos Slim, but the results have been a disaster

His best effort was a spirited drive that saw him finish 12th in the USGP, but a ride with Haas never materialized. Instead, the GP2 championship runner-up found himself in the Verizon IndyCar Series with Andretti Herta Autosport.

He went on to win the Indianapolis 500 while also claiming Rookie of the Year honors.

Given the unorthodox way he built his F1 team, Haas elected to go for experience instead, believing there were no viable candidates in the United States.

"As we become more experienced, then maybe we could take the chances that some of the other teams do with an inexperienced driver," Haas said. "Because at that point, their cars are known, their teams are known and you can help an inexperienced driver get to that position. I think we have to be a little bit cautious about taking an inexperienced American driver."

Haas does admit that having an American driver would be a huge development, but reaffirmed that it's just not high on his priority list right now.

"I think from a marketing standpoint it would be a home run to have one," Haas said. "But at the moment, it's not really that high on the agenda because we are more concerned about just being able to compete here every week with the current teams." Joey Barnes/AutoWeek