Haas has this week announced that it will retain driver duo Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen for 2024.
Team principal Guenther Steiner praised their experience, with Haas having dropped young driver Mick Schumacher after his two multi-million-pound car-snapping shunts that forced 2022 upgrades to be abandoned to comply with the cost cap.
Alongside the financial constraints, the move to six sprint races – the format which includes only one practice session before qualifying – has also heightened the need for drivers to hit the ground running each weekend.
Williams team boss James Vowles believes these elements, combined with the Alternative Tyre Allocation qualifying format being experimented with this season, means F1 requires a “rethink” or else it risks favouring seasoned drivers at the expense of new talent.
The former Mercedes strategy head said: “How we are now with the ATA format, sprint race format, wet weather as well appearing pretty much most weekends - you’re in a situation where [a rookie driver’s] learning cycle is significantly reduced relative to what I knew five, 10, 15 years ago.
“I think it’s probably worthy of a rethink at certain levels as to what we can do to help drivers in that circumstance because, ultimately, we will get ourselves into a position where we’re not adding new drivers at the rate we want to.
“Or, we have to give them so long in the car that you’ll compromise your [team] performance. That’s a longer-term discussion.”
Source: Autosport