The departure of Guenther Steiner from Haas is not only a loss to the team and to F1 but also to the show that helped him earn celebrity status. Netflix’s Drive to Survive series played a critical role in helping the Italian-American amass his own fandom. While Drive to Survive definitely helped the 58-year-old to have an increase in fanbase, F1 expert Scott Mitchell Malm has suggested that it could have also cost him his job.
When asked on the most recent episode of The Race F1 podcast if “It’s too easy to underestimate Guenther Steiner” because of Drive to Survive, Malm replied, “Yes“. He then explained how people do not take Steiner seriously because of his portrayal in Drive to Survive.
“People necessarily don’t take him seriously because there is a generation of fans who have come across Steiner purely through that sphere, through that prism of Drive to Survive. Ironically if you know him and you know his background and the importance to that organization (Haas), I don’t think he comes across as a clown in Drive to Survive,” explained Mitchell.
Steiner indeed has played an instrumental role in establishing Haas as a profitable team in F1. Had it not been for his outstanding leadership skills, the American outfit may not have even established themselves as an F1 team.
It was Steiner who contacted Haas team owner, Gene Haas, several years ago and convinced the American businessman to join F1. Since the Italian-American has played such a crucial role in laying the foundations for Haas, Mitchell has defended him.
The F1 expert does not understand Gene’s decision to sack Steiner. Malm believes that Gene perhaps does not value Steiner’s contribution enough, and believes that his replacement will definitely be able to do a better job despite the constrained resources of the team.
Why did Gene Haas sack Guenther Steiner?
Gene Haas has publicly made it clear that he has no interest in seeing his side finish last in the Constructors’ Championship. As a result, he believes that Guenther Steiner failed to meet expectations as the performance of the Haas team under him were just not good enough.
Gene pointed out how the team just finished their eighth season in F1 and have still not managed to even secure a podium finish. The 71-year-old is convinced that if the Haas team want their sponsors to stay, then they cannot carry on performing in this fashion. Gene believes that even the sponsors obviously want to be with a side that is successful.
While Gene believes that Haas’ performance under Steiner were ordinary, the Italian-American does not believe so. The 58-year-old believes it was a “surprise” to hear that Gene did not want to continue the partnership with him.
However, what was even more surprising for Steiner was the way in which Gene revealed that he wanted to part ways with him. As quoted by racingnews365.com, Steiner said, “It was a phone call. He [Gene] called me and said that he does not want to extend the contract which was up at the end of the season and that was it“.
As a result of the same, Steiner did not even have the opportunity to say goodbye to the workers of the factory. Such an unceremonious sacking is unlikely to have gone down well with him.
Who is now the new Haas team principal?
Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu will now replace Guenther Steiner as the team principal. The 47-year-old understands the task he has at hand and is ready to steer Haas in the right direction again.
For Haas, obviously, they will have to pull off a huge surprise in the next few months if they are to have a significant improvement in their performances. The team finished last in the Constructors’ Championship this past season and just managed to score 12 points.
Any improvement in the standings come 2024 from hereon will require Haas to make tremendous progress with their car. Since the regulations are relatively stable heading into the new campaign, the team will need to use all their learnings from their failures in 2023 to find more pace for the VF-24.
