Guenther Steiner believes he is uninterested in Haas’ Formula One intentions after being denied a new contract for the 2024 season.
When Gene Haas informed Steiner over the phone after Christmas that Ayao Komatsu would take over as Haas team principal for this season, Steiner’s seven-year tenure came to an end.
After Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen only collected four points apiece, Haas finished last in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship.
Steiner stated at Autosport International, “I’m not aware of Gene Haas’s future plans.” “I want to be clear that he didn’t share them with me, and he doesn’t have to.”
To be honest, I’m not that interested in it anymore. Conversely, I can see where other people are heading, and while I still believe the concept we started with was excellent, it may no longer be relevant in this day and age. Who am I to say that, though?
Is Haas’ Formula One model viable?
All of Haas’s parts, with the exception of the chassis and aerodynamic surfaces, come from Ferrari. They stay well below the 2024 F1 budget cap of $135 million.
In the 2018 Constructors’ Championship, they came in fifth place, with both Romain Grosjean and Magnussen placing in the top five in Austria.
Since the new ground effect laws were implemented, Steiner believes Haas can no longer use the copy and paste model.
“You need to invest outside of the cost cap to get your best out of the operation,” emphasized Steiner. “It’s not that complicated, but you have to consider how to obtain the operating cost cap money and how to maximise it in order to accelerate the car’s performance.
That is typically the result of investing in something that has to be done. Many individuals, I believe, realised this years ago and began learning how to be economical by making capital investments.
The finest races Haas had in Formula One under Steiner After spending two years assembling the team prior to their 2016 debut, they astonished everyone by taking the lead in their first race in Australia and Grosjean’s fifth-place finish in Bahrain.
The drivers of today, including Grosjean, Magnussen, Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin, and Hulkenberg, have all driven during Steiner’s rule and are all grateful to him.
Asked about his favourite memories at Haas, he said: When we went out testing in 2016 in Barcelona, the first time but you say ‘wow, it actually happened. We are currently on the racecourse’.
“It was widely believed at the time by many doubters that it would never succeed, so it’s evident when you score points at our first race in Australia.”
