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Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner recently made a bold claim that the team was not properly backed by its owners.
Steiner acted as its team principal ever since it was created back in 2014, two years before it participated in F1. They mostly struggled to keep up with midfield teams and were considered backmarkers. The American outfit only had one decent season in 2018, where they managed to secure fifth place in the constructors' table.
Fast forward to the end of 2023, Steiner was eventually removed from his post after 10 years of service and was replaced by trackside engineering director Ayao Komatsu. Team owner Gene Haas also told F1.com that the team wanted to take a different direction with their senior management and hence, the change was made.
Speaking on LeBatardShow podcast, Guenther Steiner was asked whether it was hard for him to leave the American team, to which he stated that he should have left a year ago. He added that the team had no support from the owner and the financial heads for them to push forward and challenge teams.
Steiner also added that he did not want to compete for lower positions in the constructors' table.
"I said it before now, I should have left a year before because for me, in my opinion, [it was] the way to nowhere," Steiner said.
"There was not the backing of the owner, of the finances, to go and challenge the better teams. I could have worked another five years to run seventh, eighth, ninth in the championship [but] I didn't want to do that anymore," he added.
F1 pundit outlines reported reason behind Guenther Steiner's exit from Haas
F1 pundit Jack Plooij recently claimed that Guenther Steiner's departure from the Kannapolis-based team was due to a disagreement between him and Gene Haas regarding a sponsor.
As per PlanetF1, Plooij told Ziggo Sport's Race Cafe program that he met Steiner but was unable to talk with him about anything related to his exit from the team. However, the Dutch reporter claimed that Steiner later messaged him and stated how he found a sponsor worth $20,000,000 for the team, but the owner refused to partner with them.
This resulted in the Italian-American team principal leaving the team for good.
"Günther and I spoke at the beginning of the week, but we weren't allowed to ask how it actually went with Haas and what he would do. But then he sent me a message, allowing me to tell him what happened," Plooij said.
"Günther found a 20 million sponsor but told Gene Haas he wanted shares in the team to stay and continue the relationship. Haas however did not accept, and so Steiner himself left the team."
Guenther Steiner amassed a massive following of his own during his time in F1 through his colorful personality showcased in Netflix's Drive to Survive series. Hence, even after his departure, he continued to stay connected to the sport and even acted as an F1 presenter for RTL in the 2024 F1 season.
