After ten years, the Günther Steiner era at Haas ends. The American Formula 1 racing team is expelling its popular team boss. This raises questions: about the reasons for the separation, about the future of Haas, about a possible mega-deal.
Formula 1 loses one of its superstars. This raises several big questions. Because Günther Steiner, the charismatic and controversial Italian, was “technically” not fired by Haas. The British BBC writes that Steiner’s contract with the US racing team was simply not renewed. Nevertheless, the separation after ten years is tantamount to being thrown out. Especially since it is only taking place now: six and a half weeks after the last race in 2023, seven weeks before the start of the 2024 season.
Steiner had taken a leading role in preparing Haas for entry into Formula 1 from 2014 onwards and was therefore the central figure in the plans of founder and owner Gene Haas even before the debut at the Australian Grand Prix in 2016. The new team boss Ayao Komatsu, previously senior race engineer, now has the “mission to maximize the team’s potential by promoting employees as well as structural processes and efficiency.” Steiner was obviously no longer capable of this.
The 58-year-old does not have a say in the team announcement, which seems at least strange given his achievements – and indicates unresolved, possibly escalated conflicts. “In the recent past, tensions have been growing within the team,” reports ESPN, essentially it was about “resources and investment – or the lack thereof”. Which leads to probably the biggest question to which team owner Gene Haas has to find an answer: Where does Haas want to go?
The F1 competition is investing diligently – what is Haas doing?
“We have had some successes, but we have to deliver consistent results,” writes the racing team, which has finished two of the last three seasons in tenth and last place in the constructors’ championship. The goal is to “keep up with Formula 1.” But this requires massive investments in the infrastructure, as various other racing teams are currently proving.
World champion Red Bull Racing will soon be building a new wind tunnel, McLaren’s is already finished, and Audi will make Sauber a works team from 2026. Aston Martin has rebuilt its headquarters and gained Honda as a powerful future partner, Williams has made significant progress since being taken over by an investor, and Alpine has raised over $200 million in fresh capital with the entry of a group of investors.
With Steiner, Haas is parting ways with the man who, according to ESPN, was “the biggest advocate of increasing investments and new facilities”: “A large part of the equipment that Haas travels to the races with is older than what the competition is .” The factory near the Silverstone Grand Prix track “urgently needs an upgrade” as do the portable rooms that are used in the paddock for meetings and to receive guests and (potential) sponsors.
“We must use our resources efficiently,” Gene Haas is quoted as saying in the team statement, while “improving our design and construction capabilities.” The 2023 season in particular was a disappointment in this regard because, unlike the other teams, Haas seemed to make little progress over the course of the year.
This became particularly clear in the case of Nico Hülkenberg, currently the only German regular driver in Formula 1, who even voluntarily forewent the supposed upgrade – because he was simply faster with the previous version. Incidentally, the change has no effect on the 36-year-old, says ntv F1 reporter Felix Görner: “Hülkenberg is good with Komatsu.” The driver pairing isn’t one of the problems that plagues Haas anyway.”
“Not Günther’s fault, but…”
“One of the recurring problems at Haas, which has bothered them almost from the beginning, is the lack of understanding of the Pirelli tires,” writes the BBC. In fact, the Haas cars are sometimes good enough for the top 10 on a fast lap, but in the race things usually go backwards – and quite quickly. Nico Hülkenberg, for example, lost more positions over the course of the season than any other driver in the field. Because, on the one hand, he showed strong qualifications and, on the other hand, he was too often uncompetitive over the race distance.
“I don’t want to say it’s Günther’s fault or anything, but it seems like it’s time to change something and go in a different direction,” says Gene Haas, still expressing his dissatisfaction with Steiner on the official F1 website unequivocally, “because it doesn’t look like continuing with what we had is really going to work.” In fact, Haas recently seemed to be stagnating at best: from 2022 to 2023, the number of points placements halved from 12 to 6, and the points total shrank from 37 to 12.
“Both sides, both Gene Haas and Günther Steiner, have come to the conclusion that it is better to separate now and make a new start,” is how Görner assesses the situation. Görner also recognizes this new beginning in the appointment of Komatsu as the new team boss. “We saw this with Andrea Stella at McLaren, at Williams with James Vowles: people who are very technically skilled are now coming into the very first row. We are now also seeing this at Haas.”
However, the turning point could also be the beginning of the end for the Haas racing team. That is, if the realignment does not bring the success that boss Gene Haas hopes for. Especially if Formula 1 actually rejects the efforts of Michael Andretti and Cadillac to become the eleventh team in what is now also a very financially attractive racing series. The cost cap introduced in 2021 means that expenses can be calculated, while income has increased significantly in the recent past and numerous race weekends reported new attendance records.
Lauda once brought Steiner to Jaguar
“It’s not crazy to imagine that an interested party would pay a large sum to take Haas’ place,” says ESPN, with the caveat that Haas would also have to be willing to sell. The “Forbes”magazine valued all ten Formula 1 teams, Ferrari and Mercedes were valued at 3.9 and 3.8 billion US dollars respectively, while only three racing teams, Alfa Romeo (now Stake, from 2026 Audi), Haas and Williams remained below one billion. According to Forbes, the price for a Haas takeover is likely to be around $780 million.
A place in Formula 1 is more valuable than ever before, and Steiner also made a significant contribution to this. In addition to the well-known motorsport enthusiasts, the motorsport premier class has opened up a whole new target group for itself with the Netflix series “Drive to Survive”. One of the stars of the format is Günther Steiner, whose tirades have long enjoyed cult status. “We saw this effect from Günther when we met for the first time and we went out to dinner,” said Alex Holmes, boss of Haas title sponsor Moneygram: “People came to the table in the middle of the meal and wanted a photo with them make him.”
What will happen next for the South Tyrolean, who Niki Lauda brought into Formula 1 for the first time in the early 2000s with the then Jaguar and today’s Red Bull team, is completely open. A new job as a team boss is unlikely any time soon, but a consultant role is possible and involves significantly less everyday stress. Perhaps Steiner will also write a sequel to his bestseller “Surviving to Drive.” Or he gets involved in reporting on Formula 1 as an expert. He could then perhaps comment in his usual flowery words as to whether his departure would pay off for Haas.