Guenther Steiner has questioned the ambition of his former employers Haas, likening the American Formula 1 team’s mentality to an “Olympic spirit.”
Steiner was Team Principal between Haas’ inception in 2014 and January this year, when his contract was not renewed by owner Gene Haas and was replaced by the team’s former Trackside Engineering Director, Ayao Komatsu.
The Italian was continuously faced with the difficult task of running a team with a budget comparatively small to its rivals and struggled to ensure its future season by season.
In the months since his departure, Steiner, who has transitioned into a go-to media commentator on F1, has doubled-down on his belief the team would have improved had it matched his own ambitions and revealed that his departure was down to a disagreement with Haas regarding further investment.
When asked by Ouest-France about the future of the team, Steiner said: “I don’t know how much Mr Haas wants to invest, and the team is still the smallest in the paddock, both in terms of employees and factory… It’s complicated to survive in this world that grows every year.
“My feeling is that Mr Haas is content to be in the second half of the standings and simply participate.
“That’s what frustrates me. I don’t make that much effort just to take part; I love the Olympic spirit, but that’s not me.
“I want to move forward, to have a goal to follow. I want to compete with others because I’m a competitor.
“I don’t know what he wants to do. To be honest, I did my time there, I built the team, and I’m happy with it.
“What he does with it doesn’t concern me, and to be completely transparent, I don’t really care.”
Asked if he had any regrets about his time at Haas, Steiner said: “Not a regret, no,” adding: “But maybe with what I know now, I would have left the team in 2022.
“We weren’t going anywhere and we were constantly trying to ‘do more with less’, which is very difficult because everyone else was doing ‘more with more’.
“But I always gave it my all, and in that tunnel, you don’t necessarily see that you’re going nowhere. But that’s not a regret.”
Upcoming Toyota partnership to give Haas hope?
Despite Steiner’s criticisms, Haas did see an upturn in fortunes, narrowly missing out on sixth in the Constructors’ Championship with 58 points, 46 more than 2023, when it finished bottom.
It also has reasons to look forward to 2025, as it retains its status as a Ferrari engine customer, as well as beginning its first full season in a technical partnership with Toyota Gazoo Racing.
That deal sees the Japanese marque make a return to F1 after 15 years away, having been a standalone constructor between 2002 and 2009.
In the intervening years, it’s seen huge successes in both the World Rally Championship and the World Endurance Championship, winning a combined 12 Teams’ Championships and 11 Drivers’ Championships.
The partnership will surely give Haas a great deal of hope it can break through further and help it score points on a regular basis.
Toyota will help Haas develop a Testing of Previous Car (TPC) and Simulator programme which is a definitive sign of growth that Steiner implies wasn’t part of the team owner’s intentions.
As well as this, Haas also has a brand-new driver line-up, with Grand Prix winner Esteban Ocon joining from Alpine.
Ocon will be partnered by 18-year-old Ferrari Academy prospect Oliver Bearman, who scored a point for the team in Baku after standing in for Magnussen.
READ MORE – Guenther Steiner reveals true extent of Gene Haas’ F1 cost-cutting measures
