“It’s Not Existing Anymore”: Guenther Steiner on His Relationship With Gene Haas After His Firing From the Team

“It’s Not Existing Anymore”: Guenther Steiner on His Relationship With Gene Haas After His Firing From the Team

After spending eight years as the Team Principal of Haas, Guenther Steiner parted ways with the Kannapolis-based outfit in 2023. Still riding the fame he amassed during his time in the sport, Steiner was promoting his latest book—titled ‘Unfiltered’—recently. During that, he was quizzed about his relationship with the owner of his ex-team, Gene Haas.

On the Pitstop Podcast, the hosts were reading the acknowledgment section of the book and noted a rather interesting note for Steiner’s former employer. The Italian-American thanked his family, friends, and Haas team members, “Except you Gene”.

This prompted them to ask Steiner if his equation with the American team owner had changed over the past year. Steiner was quick to reply, “It’s not existing anymore! So, it’s changed quite a bit, you know.”

Gene sacked Steiner at the end of the 2023 season after what he considered an underwhelming campaign. The decision “came down to performance,”  as per Haas (reported by ESPN). Rumors also suggested that when Steiner approached Haas with the possibility of becoming a shareholder in the team, he was bluntly refused.

Considered the face of Haas, Steiner felt he deserved better. He revealed that he will serve up some never known before revelations in his book.

Steiner’s life after Haas

Since his sacking, Steiner has carved out a successful career in media. In addition to being a TV pundit, he has also published two books. His first book, Surviving to Drive, even led to Gene Haas filing a lawsuit against him for breach of intellectual property rights.

However, this lawsuit was recently dismissed. A California court ruled in favor of Steiner, dismissing the case without the option to amend, meaning Haas cannot sue him over the same allegations again.

That said, with Steiner’s latest book threatening to provide an unprecedented look inside how the Haas F1 team functioned and revealing inner paddock stories, one can expect pushback from those not portrayed in a favorable light by the 59-year-old.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Gene Haas Guenther Steiner Haas

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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