Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko's bold theory about Guenther Steiner's dismissal from Haas

Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko has shared a bold theory about Guenther Steiner's dismissal from Haas. Marko feels the sacking had to do with Steiner looking to buy into the team.

Steiner was part of the American team since its inception. In the decade-long partnership, eight years were spent racing, with the team's best result being the P5 finish in the championship in 2018.

But Haas' model had started to struggle over the last few seasons and it coincides with Ferrari's inherent issues. After the high of 2018, the American team has finished at the bottom of the constructors' table twice in the last three years. This was one of the reasons cited by the team owner for not extending the partnership with Steiner.

However, Marko does not think that is the case and feels Steiner's rising popularity might have played a role in his ouster from Haas.

“Let’s put it this way: Anyone who becomes too popular through a documentary like Netflix tends to take off. But if you fly too high too quickly, you will fall more quickly. All I heard was that he wanted to convert his popularity into shares in the team. And owner Gene Haas didn't like that anymore. It is also the case in our sport that the team always comes before the individual. Steiner became a victim of his popularity,” he told F1Insider.

Former Red Bull employee talks about Guenther Steiner's ouster from Haas

Former Red Bull employee and AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost also commented on Guenther Steiner's release.

Tost claimed that even though he had a great relationship with the American, he could understand why something like this would happen, especially since Haas' major in-season upgrade proved to be a failure.

“I got on very well with Günther both personally and professionally. He was an expert in our sport. I don't want to say anything more. The pressure in Formula 1 is brutal. If further development of a car doesn’t work in the middle of the season, someone to blame will be sought,” Tost explained.

It will be interesting to see if Steiner responds to Helmut Marko's claims about him looking at a stake in Haas. The American team, just like any other team in F1, has grown in value as the sport has reached new heights. It remains to be seen what's next in the future of both the team principal and the team.