Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner claimed that he got kicked out of the F1 Team Principal WhatsApp group after he left the sport at the end of the 2023 season. The Italian-American had been a key part of getting the American team into the sport and served as the team boss from 2016 to 2023.
During his almost decade-long tenure, Steiner guided the team to finish P5 in 2018 but always struggled to get out of the lower end of the midfield and fight for minor points. He was let go of his services at the end of the last year and was replaced by Ayao Komatsu.
While appearing on the Fast and Curious podcast, Steiner revealed that not only was he let off from Haas but also got "kicked out" of the Team Principal WhatsApp group. He said:
"I think I got kicked out of it because no I didn't get WhatsApp anymore but nobody gets a message when you get kicked out correct?"
When pestered, Steiner refused to let the hosts check who kicked him out of the group and mentioned that the other team bosses might get "upset". When further questioned about the admin of the group, he guessed Williams F1 team principal James Vowles:
"He's best organized. I don't dislike him but he's not here get rid of him. Thanks, buddy."
Guenther Steiner chimes in on his dynamic with Gene Haas
Guenther Steiner stated that he had not been in contact with Haas F1 team owner Gene Haas since he was let off at the end of last year. Speaking to The Athletic, the 59-year-old said:
“Doing it like this (on the phone) is a little bit cheap if you build up a company for somebody and make him half a billion dollars. The last thing I want is to speak with him. I don’t need him anymore.”
“You get a much clearer picture than when you are in the trenches. When you are moved away, you can actually see what has gone wrong. While you are there, because you are working on sorting the problems out, you don’t see them as clearly as you see them now,” Steiner added.
Guenther Steiner has kept himself busy after his stint as team principal as he has now switched to punditry with RTL and Sky Germany and has written two books.
Haas F1 are on course to finish in the midfield for the first time since 2018 as they are currently in the battle for P6 with RB and trail them by just three points with just six races and three Sprints remaining in the 2024 season.