- Mail Sport understands that Steiner rowed with team owner Gene Haas
- Steiner demanded more investment but Haas said he wasn’t getting much return
- His departure brings to an end a reign at Haas which lasted a decade
Guenther Steiner, a breakout star of Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, today lost his job as team principal of Formula One team, Haas.
The Italian-American engineer made his name as the foul-mouthed boss of the US-owned team, winning a fan base that had been largely unaware of him as a long-serving backwoodsman executive at Jaguar and Red Bull.
His guttural Germanic-sounding expletives – he was born on the Austrian border – had groupies besieging him at race tracks and airports around the world for autographs and selfies.
But, aged 58, after a season that saw Haas finish last in the constructors’ championship, he makes way for Ayao Komatsu, the team’s Japanese 47-year-old director of engineering. It brings to an end a reign of 10 years.
Mail Sport understands Steiner rowed with owner Gene Haas and that they pretty much mutually decided his time was up. Steiner demanded more investment, though Haas might have pointed out that he wasn’t getting much return on his £105million budget-cap restrained outlay.
Guenther Steiner has been sacked as team principal of Haas after a row with the team’s owner
Steiner demanded more investment though Gene Haas (right) pointed out he wasn’t getting much return on his £105million budget-cap restrained outlay
Nico Hulkenberg (left) and Kevin Magnussen amassed a mere 12 points last season – as Haas finished bottom of the constructors’ championship for the second time in three years
Through drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen amassed a mere 12 points. If they spent the full £105m quota, that equates to £87,500 per point. Red Bull, the champions, scored 860 at £1,221 per point.
‘It was a case of I need this investment and Gene saying “No”,’ an F1 insider said. ‘This was an instance of “F*** you”. And of “F*** you” in return.
In a statement, owner Haas said: ‘I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future.
‘Moving forward as an organisation it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances. In appointing Ayao Komatsu we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.’
Haas continued: ‘We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals. We need to be efficient with the resources we have, but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team.
Steiner (pictured with former Haas driver Mick Schumacher) made his name as the foul-mouthed boss of the US-owned team, winning a fan base on the Drive to Survive series
‘I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximise our potential. This truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula One.’
Both last year’s drivers remain on the roster for the 2024 season at the Carolina-owned outfit that rose from the ashes of the bankrupt Marussia team and took over their Banbury factory in Oxfordshire.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk