Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has left with immediate effect.

A star of Netflix’s Drive to Survive and a tenured staple of the paddock, Steiner had made a name for himself as a characterful fellow who you wouldn’t mess with (or smash his door!).

Steiner’s no-nonsense attitude caused issues at times especially with regard to managing hot-headed young drivers however it was he who attempted to steady the ship at Haas and allow them to score points and be a force in the midfield.

However, this was not always the case as Haas finished last in the constructors’ championship this season and had a disappointing season in 2022 as young Mick Schumacher was not showing the talent many had hoped for.

It may be for this reason that Steiner has left the team (perhaps jumped before he was pushed?) and it is interesting to note that there has been no statement from the Italian about his move or 7 year stint at the team.

Gene 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.

“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organization. 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.”

He will be replaced by Haas’ current Director of Engineering Ayao Komatsu who has over 20 years of experience in Formula One but will he be able to turn Haas around?

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