Haas wants to sue its former team principal, Guenther Steiner over infringements related to his book, ‘Surviving to Drive’. Steiner, who got the pink slip from the American outfit in January 2024, had been a pillar of their journey in F1. However, after an unceremonious end to their association, the Italian had sued Haas for non-payment of commissions that they owed him.
According to Autosport, the American team’s parent company, Haas Automation has lodged court papers in the Central District of California, Western Division. Their case is against the unlawful usage of images in Steiner’s book by him and his publisher, Ten Speed Press.
An excerpt from their document reads, “In 2023, without permission or consent from Haas Automation, Steiner authored, marketed, promoted, sold, distributed, and profited from a publication titled “Surviving to Drive” (the “Accused Product”)”
The document further reads how Steiner‘s book “continues to use and display, the Haas Automation Trademarks and the Haas Automation Trade Dress for Steiner’s personal financial gain and illicit profit.”
The Banbury-based team may also seek damages as they cited that they never gave any consent to its former team boss to use their trademarks and images. Haas have also quoted the Surviving to Drive book’s sales volume (150,000 units) and revenue numbers ($4.5 million).
Haas sekarang gantian menuntut Guenther Steiner!
Steiner dituntut karena diklaim bertindak “secara tidak sah” dalam menerbitkan gambar yang diyakini melanggar aturan merek dagang Haas di dalam buku Steiner yang berjudul “Surviving To Drive”.
Menurut Haas, Steiner telah membuat,… pic.twitter.com/qUYH1Fbi8d
— Lambe Resing (@LambeResing) May 13, 2024
The Haas-Steiner partnership ended on a sour note for both parties. The 58-year-old boss had to vacate his position all of a sudden as the team owner, Gene Haas was not satisfied with the team’s underwhelming results.
On top of that, the latest commission lawsuit news could have further fueled Haas to go ahead with their intellectual property infringement case.
The Guenther Steiner-Haas story doesn’t seem to end
Guenther Steiner released his book, ‘Surviving to Drive’ midway through the 2023 season. However, he did not receive any lawsuit or objection from Haas back then. They mentioned that they had sent the Italian a pre-lawsuit notice, however, they did not specify any timeline for the same.
After not receiving any responsive action from Steiner for ceasing the usage of their trademarked images, Haas went ahead with their legal action.
This does indicate that Haas doesn’t wish to keep any associations with Steiner. After such a turmultuous exit he had, it makes sense for both parties not to be amicable about any pending matters.
Steiner lost Gene Haas’ confidence after being last in the standings of the 2023 season. The Haas F1 team had been finishing in the bottom three teams perennially and the American businessman expected better.
However, there was a lot of criticism for Gene Haas as Steiner was a ‘cult’ figure and a fan-favorite courtesy of Netflix’s Drive to Survive. Thus, many members within the paddock were not a fan of Steiner’s sacking from the Banbury outfit.
