Mick Schumacher will get at least two years to settle in at Haas, according to Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.
"I think it will be very difficult for him at the start," the Italian said, referring to the promotion to Formula 1 of Ferrari’s leading driver ’academy’ member.
"If you look at his previous appearances in Formula 2 and Formula 3, then you can see that he had his best season in the second year and not in the first," Binotto added.
At the same time, Ferrari and Haas are clearly moving closer together in their collaboration, with Ferrari designer Simone Resta to work for the small American outfit.
Binotto is also not ruling out a future in red for 21-year-old Schumacher.
"I think Mick learns in the first year and then applies what he has learned in the second year. Especially in the second half of the second year he is very strong," he said.
"That is why it is important for him to be there for two years."
As for the possibility of a Ferrari race seat for the new Formula 2 champion, Binotto said: "The Ferrari academy was not created to train Formula 1 drivers - it was created to train Formula 1 drivers for Ferrari."