Haas F1 have grabbed all the headlines recently after they shockingly announced on January 10 that they have parted ways with team principal Guenther Steiner. Following the departure of the Italian-American, Haas will now take a different path in their car’s development. Veteran F1 photographer Kym Illman believes that this news does not bode well for either Nico Hulkenberg or Kevin Magnussen.
Illman in his recent YouTube video said, “I feel sorry for both the drivers. They’re going to be worried about what’s going on. Will the car be any good? And they’ve got to sit in this thing and drive it at 300-plus kilometers an hour.”
Steiner signed both drivers after moving away from the all-rookie driver philosophy. Kevin Magnussen made a comeback in the team in 2022 after Nikita Mazepin’s ouster. Nico Hulkenberg, on the other hand, replaced Mick Schumacher in 2023.
Illman’s concerns are not unfounded, though. Despite the current lineup’s immense experience, they will go through the nervous jitters as the car adapts to a different philosophy. The gamble becomes all the more risky because of the timing of Steiner’s departure.
The engineers will adapt to the new philosophy and will have less than two months to go before the new season starts. That is far from ideal as the car must have been in the final stages of its development.
Whatever changes will happen now will likely have to carry over through the course of the 2024 season. The fact that the team’s management was ready to take that big of a risk with Steiner’s ouster suggests that there was a complete breakdown of the relationship.
Gene Haas makes strong remarks following Guenther Steiner’s sacking
Guenther Steiner has developed the image of a superstar ever since his Drive To Survive debut. His flamboyant personality with strong opinions has made him a fan favorite.
F1 media believed that Steiner hogging the limelight was a reason behind his ouster. Gene Haas, however, clarified, “It’s about performance. I have no interest in being 10th anymore.”
Last year, BusinessF1 reported a conflict between Gene and Steiner. As per the report, Steiner was contemplating suing Gene over the ownership of the F1 team. The 58-year-old was rumored to launch the lawsuit over his reported claim of 50% of the team’s ownership, which was estimated to be worth $900 million. Steiner laughed the claims off back then.
The Italian-American’s absence would certainly be a loss for Netflix as well. The streaming giant cashed in on Steiner’s personality in almost every season of their sensational docuseries, Drive To Survive. Well, there is always the option to keep him as a subject matter expert, though.
But is it really game over for Guenther in F1? There are speculations about his return albeit with Alpine, who sacked their team principal Otmar Szafnauer last year. The French team is currently working under Bruno Famin’s interim leadership. Hence, there is still a possibility that Steiner may return to F1 before the 2024 season commences in late February.
