“Guenther Has Paid the Price for That”: David Croft Reveals Real Reason Behind Steiner’s Sacking

The Haas team shocked F1 fans around the world when they announced the sacking of Guenther Steiner on January 10. Owner Gene Haas has now entrusted Ayao Komatsu to take over the role of team principal. Although many are still in doubt about why Haas sacked Steiner, David Croft has given one potential reason on the most recent episode of the Sky Sports F1 podcast.

Croft spoke about how Steiner was way more popular than Gene Haas. However, the F1 expert stated that this solely would never be a reason to sack somebody. Then Croft pointed out how lack of performance could have also been the reason for Gene to make such a decision and part ways with Steiner.

Croft said, “Their performance on track last year might have been part of the picture as well. Great run on Saturday in terms of the way Nico Hulkenberg for instance managed to get himself into the top ten.”

Following this, Croft focused on how poor their performance on Sunday was. “So, Guenther has I think paid the price for that,” concluded the British commentator.

Croft was referring to Haas‘ great performance on Saturday, but then their failure to get a strong result on Sunday. Croft was statistically right as both Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen showed signs of brilliance during qualification, but then fell off drastically on Sunday.

Haas primarily had such struggles because of the excess tire degradation that their cars suffered. For instance, Magnussen qualified in P4 in Miami but finished P10 in the race. Similarly, Hulkenberg qualified in P7 in Spain but then finished in a lowly P15 in the race.

A similar scenario also took place in Canada when Hulkenberg qualified in P5, but once again finished in P15. In such a manner, Haas has repeatedly failed to make the most of their performance on Saturday and convert them into a strong points finish on Sunday.

Guenther Steiner’s popularity exceeded the sport and team Haas

In the Sky Sports F1 podcast, David Croft also spoke about how popular Guenther Steiner is and how it is way above that of the Haas team. The 58-year-old became a huge fan favorite thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive docu-series.

In the docu-series, the audience saw Steiner as a popular figure alongside Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. This was something Croft also echoed as he focused on the massive popularity of Steiner and how it helped Haas to receive the same limelight as Mercedes and Red Bull.

The predominant reason why Steiner is so popular is because of his straightforwardness. While the Italian-American had a strong presence in the paddock, his methods did not help the side to improve their performance.

Haas could only manage 12 points in 22 races last season despite having two experienced drivers in their lineup. Since Gene Haas is likely to have been unhappy with his side’s performance, he chose the harsh decision to sack Steiner.