Earlier this month, Guenther Steiner’s departure from Haas was confirmed – a move that caused shockwaves within the F1 community this off-season. Team owner Gene Haas was not happy with Steiner because of the outfit’s poor results. Now, several big personalities in F1 are taking brutal digs at Steiner, bringing up things that will surely hurt the departure.
While many don’t blame Steiner for poor results, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher surely thinks that is the case. In fact, he also compared Steiner to a stinky fish (as per FormulaPassion), because of his poor leadership skills. The former Haas boss’ relationship with Schumacher was particularly bad because he sacked his nephew Mick Schumacher at the end of the 2022 season.
“It came down to performance”
Gene Haas on Guenther Steiner’s departure and what it means for his team’s future
A must-read #F1Unlocked exclusive #F1
— Formula 1 (@F1) January 11, 2024
On the other hand, ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone had negative things to say about Steiner’s popularity. The fact that Haas are competing at the back of the grid and struggling financially, but Steiner is still ever-popular, does not sit right with him.
“There has never been a boss of a team so bankrupt that he has become a superstar anyway thanks to a US series. In my day, when only performance counted, it never happened “, said Ecclestone.
Ecclestone’s comments, however, don’t seem to be aimed at Steiner. Instead, he talks about ‘Drive to Survive’, which in his opinion, made the 58-year-old so famous.
Steiner also has some supporters though. Outgoing AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost admits how difficult it is to handle pressure in F1. He says that he liked him a lot, but if the team needs a change, difficult steps must be taken.
Guenther Steiner is not interested in Haas or F1
For the first time since his sacking, Guenther Steiner opened up about his thoughts. As per SI, Steiner wants to take his time to assess options. He revealed that Gene Haas told him about his removal over a phone call.
When asked about what Haas’ plans for the future were, he simply said that he wasn’t interested. As for returning to F1, he is not sure when that will happen. “: don’t know if Formula 1 wants me,” he said. “Now at the moment, I’m very chilled out about the situation.”
Team Owner Gene Haas explains the appointment of Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal. #HaasF1 pic.twitter.com/rZ7gadfyj8
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) January 10, 2024
Steiner went on to talk about how difficult the last 10 years of his life were. He doesn’t want to dive right back into it, because of how stressful it was.
Haas’ plans for the future, however, are ambitious. They don’t want to finish last or ninth anymore as team owner Gene said. They chose Ayao Komatsu as the new team principal, someone they hope will elevate the technical side of things at the Kannapolis-based outfit.
