Haas retain Ferrucci as development driver

Eighteen-year-old American Santino Ferrucci is to continue as a Haas F1 development driver in 2017, while simultaneously competing in his second full-time season in the GP3 Series with the DAMS team.

Ferrucci first joined Haas last year, testing for two days in July at the UK’s Silverstone circuit, where he became the first American to pilot an American F1 car since Danny Ongais’ appearance for Penske in the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix.

“I said it last year when I became a part of Haas F1 Team - my goal since I first started racing is to become a Formula One driver, and to be an American who is part of an American team is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in,” Ferrucci said.

“I learned a lot last year in GP3 with DAMS and with Haas F1 Team. The combination of the two allowed me to learn more and at a faster rate. I feel so much more prepared this year. I’m really looking forward to getting started.”

In his first GP3 season with DAMS last year, Ferrucci finished 12th overall and scored a podium finish in the Belgian round at Spa-Francorchamps. He also made his sports car debut, winning his first outing in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo North America series.

“We’re very happy to have Santino back with us and look forward to his continuing development in GP3,” added Guenther Steiner, Haas team principal.

“We liked what we saw of him last year in our test at Silverstone and his maturity inside and outside of the car is impressive. Santino is a young, American driver with plenty of potential who is learning a lot with DAMS and us.”