Problems at Haas
The case for Oscar Piastri
Problems
Oh Haas. Man I am not sure if they will ever figure it out. It breaks my heart to see Steiner just having problems thrown at him nonstop, I mean he seems like such a nice guy.
So if you have been paying attention it seems like Nikita Mazepin is not going to be back racing in F1 this year. Originally he was supposed to be driving alongside Mick Schumacher for another year, but the recent conflict in Ukraine has put an end to that. The end of a true dynasty haha. Anyways with Uralkali no longer a sponsor it is almost inevitable we see Mazepin being dropped.
So what are the options?
Pietro Fittipaldi
Currently, Steiner has announced that the driver will most likely be Pietro Fittipaldi. Pietro has been a reserve driver for the Haas team for a few years, and he is the grandson of an F1 champion.
Now here is why I do not think he is the right guy for the job. Maybe Pietro is great at testing the cars for Haas, and that’s all well and good. But this driver is not qualified for the grand stage that is Formula 1.
It is worth noting that Haas will most likely not be even close to a contender this season. I am not sure what they were doing all last season. Based on preseason testing it does not seem like they were working on this years car. It’s a real shame too. This regulation change could have been a huge opportunity for the teams in the back of the grid. With Haas solely focusing on the new car and throwing away last season, it’s a real shame to see them make so little progress.
Anyways, here is the deal with Pietro. To be qualified for F1 you need to have 40 points on your super license. Pietro barely received the points. He won the majority of points in the World Series Formula V8 3.5 championship. He won 35 of the 40 points there. The year he won, the grid was so weak that in the middle of the season the FIA announced that next season the winner would only be awarded 20 points. And the series was not competitive enough to race another season.
Fittipaldi has competed in other series like IndyCar and World Endurance Championship, but he has never had a significant impact and has overall just been a mediocre driver.
Honestly if Fittipaldi drives this season it will probably just be another repeat of Mazepin’s run. Expect maybe he will get out of the way a little better than Nikita.
Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri deserves this drive. I mean the guy has been showing out in the lower tiers and it is about time we see what he can do on the big stage. For those unfamiliar with Piastri, the guy is a phenom. Oscar took F2 by storm last year, winning the championship in his rookie season. Before this, Piastri was a back to back F3 champion. Piastri has proven himself in the lower tiers.
Currently Oscar is a reserve driver for the Alpine team. If Alpine was smart they would want him driving now. Developing this young superstar should be a priority considering he will likely be the one to replace the aging Fernando Alonso. Alpine could easily allow Haas to use him for the season and get him some valuable experience in the world of F1. While yes, he would probably be fighting towards the back of the grid every week, any experience is good for such a young driver.
Haas would benefit greatly from this. With Haas on the brink of not even being a team, they need a new spark to get them some momentum. Rising stars like Shumacher and Piastri driving together could give them some much needed buzz to attract some new sponsors.
In my opinion, we need to see Piastri on the grid sooner rather than later and this is a win win for everyone… expect Mazepin and Fittipaldi.
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