Guenther Steiner has urged former team Haas to give F1 wonderkid Oliver Bearman a race seat for next season.
Bearman stepped in at the last minute to race for Ferrari in the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
The Brit, aged only 18, finished seventh in the race and has received widespread praise for his performance.
Former Haas team principal Steiner believes Bearman is already prepared to take on a full-time role on the grid.
“Coming in to replace Carlos [Sainz] at the last minute – that was a lot of pressure on him. Let’s not forget, he was on pole for the F2 race – he was already excited about that,” Steiner told Formula1.com.
“Then getting the news he had to replace Carlos the next day must have been a lot to deal with. But you wouldn’t have known. He was very cool throughout. Based on his performance in Jeddah, after what I saw from him at Haas, I’d put him in a race seat.
“Obviously, it depends on the circumstances and what seats are available. You need to see the whole landscape, but he would be a candidate. Obviously, it is not 100 per cent that he will succeed.
“It’s still a risk. But the way he handled himself in qualifying and the race in Jeddah, having just had one hour of practice, suggests the risk is so much smaller.”
