F1: Haas Has Reportedly Settled In On Mick Schumacher And Nikita Mazepin For 2021

Haas has reportedly settled on the services of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin for the 2021 season. While the team hasn't officially announced its line-up, it has been a well-known secret on the paddock for a couple of weeks ever since the exit of its existing drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen was announced. In fact, McLaren CEO Zak Browne also said that Mick Schumacher was joining the team. Haas is unlikely to announce the official line up till the end of the season, while Ferrari has also said that it will take a couple of weeks to decide which one of its drivers from the Ferrari driver academy will graduate to F1. Mick Schumacher, who is the son of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher is tipped to be the one as he also leads the F2 world championship with the Ferrari powered Prema team.

Mick Schumacher is the leader of the F2 world championship 

Nikita Mazepin could benefit from FIA's decision around super license points which would mean that he would have enough to qualify for a seat in F1. In fact, Mazepin who is the son of Russian billionaire Dimitri Mazepin could also bring in some sponsorship or investment to the team. 

"We discussed this, the risks, the opportunities with them. There is obviously a risk that two rookies, they have nobody experienced to look at [for] the data and stuff like this. They need to find out between them what is going on, and there is a risk that it goes wrong. But the pros are you can put them in the direction you want to put them, and they grow with the team. Because it was never done, it doesn't mean that it doesn't work. For sure there is a risk that it doesn't work. I don't want to be ignorant to that one," said Haas team boss Guenther Steiner. 

The Haas F1 team has deep links with Ferrari as it supplies its engine and may other listed parts 

Probably Haas is waiting for the F2 season to get over before it announces its all-rookie line-up for 2021. Schumacher's seat is a given considering the deep technical partnership between Ferrari and Haas but Mazepin's could still have some issues as he will need a minimum 40 super license points. Schumacher seems to be a done deal as he leads the F2 championship and needs to finish just P6 in the championship to secure 40 points. 

For Mazepin, things are a little more complex as he is P6 in the standings and needs to secure P7. That being said, even if doesn't secure P7, there is a loophole in the rules thanks to COVID19 as many drivers have lost opportunities to score more points and the FIA will make exceptions for special cases that have more than 30 super license points.