Fittipaldi to test for Haas in Bahrain as team considers ‘several candidates’ for race seat

Pietro Fittipaldi will drive for Haas at this week’s Formula 1 pre-season test in Bahrain, but the team is weighIng up “several candidates” to parter Mick Schumacher this season.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Haas announced last week it had terminated the contracts of driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali with immediate effect.

It has left the American-owned outfit needing to find a replacement to fill Mazepin’s vacant seat ahead of the first race of the 2022 season in Bahrain next week.

Fittipaldi, grandson of two-time world champion Emerson, is Haas’ official reserve driver, and has two grand prix starts for the team under his belt after subbing for Romain Grosjean at the final two races in 2020.

Team owner Gene Haas said while Fittipaldi would be in the car for the Bahrain test, he is considering hiring a more experienced driver to occupy the second seat, with an announcement expected in the coming days.

Speaking to Associated press, Haas said: “We’re in the process of looking at several candidates, we’ll see who is available and what we have to deal with, but we’ll have somebody by Wednesday.

“Pietro will definitely be in it, that’s what he’s for, he’s the test driver.”

Among the drivers Haas could turn to is Antonio Giovinazzi, who switched for Formula E this year after losing his seat at Alfa Romeo, given his links to technical partners Ferrari.

Current Aston Martin reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg is another potential option, but the German hasn’t raced full-time since leaving Renault at the end of 2019.

Haas said the decision to drop Mazepin and Uralkali was a consequence of not being able to deal with its Russian links amid the ongoing conflict.

“There was a lot of intense criticism about the Ukrainian invasion and it was just getting overwhelming,” he said. “We can’t deal with all that, our other sponsors can’t deal with all that.”

Despite fears over the team’s future since losing Uralkali’s backing, Haas is clear it has enough resources to survive.

“Haas has always been the major, primary sponsor, I don’t know why people said it became a Russian team. Haas Automation was always on the car,” he said.

“We’re good. We’re fine. We’d like more money, of course, but we’re fine,” he said. “This just gives us a bigger negative number.”