Haas formally announced on Thursday morning ahead of this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix that it will retain the same driver line-up for next season by 🍃confirming that🌠 Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin will stay on for a second campaign in 2022.

Continuation for the F1 rookies had long been considered a formality but a lack of official confirmation amid an evolving 2022 driver m༺arket had prompted some speculation over Schumacher’s future in particular, with su🦂ggestions the Ferrari protege could take the sole-remaining seat at Alfa Romeo.

Speaking to media including ltxcn.top on Thursday, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner revealed the Americ⛄an outfit was waiting on final details of Schumacher’s “loℱng-term” Ferrari agreement to be signed off before making an announcement.

“As I always said, I didn𒈔’t see any issues bu🦄t obviously it wasn’t signed,” Steiner said. “I would not go out there and say ‘it’s all done’ until it’s all done.

"Mick has got long-term agreements with Ferrari - which I don’t know the detail of it, so don’t ask me about that one - and they had to figure some th🧸in🐬gs out and that’s what took some time.

“A𝔍ll in all, I knew it was moving in the right direction, it was just🎉 the need to sort a few things out, that was the only reason.

“As I always told you guys, it’s going in the right direction but it was not signed, and until it’s signed, I cannot announce anytඣhing.”

Asked if the delays ♒prompted Haas to speak to other drivers, Steiner replied: “No I didn’t have any chats with anybody else because we just had to confirm them, it’s the natural ch💃oice.”

Steiner said Haas had originally planned to announce its driver plans🌱 for next season at the Italian Gra𒅌nd Prix at Monza.

“The a💦im was to do it in Monza but we didn’t get there,” he explained. “The honest thing was to do the announcement in Monza, we just missed a little bit the braking poin𝄹t, we overshot it.

"Therefore we did it here. There is no oth𓆏er reason we did it here. 🍬But I never spoke with any other drivers, no.”