Gunther Steiner says he isn't sure why Daniel Ricciardo would choose a reserve role over a full-time Formula 1 race seat for 2023.
As it became clear that the 33-year-old Australian was losing his place at McLaren, Haas boss Steiner revealed that he sent a "text" to Ricciardo in September.
Nothing came of that, so just this week Steiner invited Ricciardo to give him a call amid Haas' deliberations about Mick Schumacher's future.
"If he's interested in us, he's not shy to call me up," Steiner told the Associated Press. "I am not going to chase him down.
"I want him to decide what he wants to do for himself, first, before being talked into something."
It was believed that Ricciardo's clear plan was to essentially take a 'sabbatical' of sorts next year whilst serving as Mercedes' full-time reserve.
However, it now appears as though the former Red Bull and Renault driver may in fact be the full-time reserve for both Red Bull Racing and Alpha Tauri in 2023.
"It's kind of like just hitting pause for a little bit, as I see it - and let's say as far as my F1 career goes the full intention is to be racing for '24," said Ricciardo.
The implication is that Ricciardo would prefer the Red Bull reserve post over actually racing full-time for Haas.
When asked about that, Steiner said in Austin: "I think you need to ask Danny that one, not me, about why he doesn't want to race.
"I don't know if it's something against Haas or just he decides to do something different for a year. I cannot guess what he wants to do. I have no idea what to answer you."
