Haas ditch charismatic team principal Guenther Steiner in blow to F1
The Haas team principal, Guenther Steiner, has been replaced for the new Formula One season after 10 years in charge. Steiner’s removal is a blow for the sport. The Italian is one of the most colourful and charismatic characters in the paddock. He played a key role in F1’s recent surge in popularity, especially in the US.
The US-based team – whose factory is located in Banbury, Oxfordshire – announced on Wednesday the 58-year-old will be replaced by their former director of engineering Ayao Komatsu. It is understood Steiner was not sacked but that his contract, which had concluded, was not renewed.
Steiner became one of the breakout stars of the Netflix series Drive to Survive, his blunt outspoken attitude towards his role and often his drivers, along with his inventive and explosive bouts of swearing, proved hugely popular with viewers. His public appearances often attracted more fans than those of his drivers and last year he published a bestselling book. He is the only team principal to do a roaring trade in T-shirts bearing his image.
The team, however, have been underperforming, even given their limited budget, finishing bottom in the constructors’ championship last year and eighth in 2022.
The owner, Gene Haas, indicated he was not satisfied with the results, despite Steiner having been with the team from the beginning. Steiner is also understood to have been instrumental in recruiting the team’s title sponsor, MoneyGram.
“It was clear we needed to improve our on-track performances,” Haas said. “We have had success but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organisation.”
As well as being an enormously colourful personality, Steiner was admired and respected in the paddock, not least for delivering with limited resources. The team was formed with the intent of using as many stock parts as were legally possible from Ferrari to keep development costs down.
The model was criticised by other teams, with Haas building only the chassis and aerodynamics on their car, but it proved to be successful in allowing them to go racing without the expense of similar sized teams. However, their limited ability to develop their own direction for the car has proved to be a repeated setback they have yet to overcome.
Komatsu has been with the team since 2016 and will be expected to focus on the team’s performance with a new role being created to handle the noncompetitive management of the team.