Guenther Steiner faced a challenging week as he parted ways with Haas. Christian Horner, in a March interview last year, disclosed that he played a role in Steiner’s departure from Red Bull in 2008, citing a perceived ‘lack of technical leadership’ as the primary reason. Steiner had initially served as Team Red Bull’s technical director from 2006 to 2008 before transitioning to Haas for a decade.
Steiner returned to Red Bull in 2005 as the Technical Operations Director after the team’s acquisition of Jaguar in 2004. However, Horner was dissatisfied with Steiner’s performance, leading to the decision to let him go. Steiner then took on the challenge of establishing a NASCAR team in the United States, while Adrian Newey was brought in from McLaren to replace him at Red Bull.
Horner explained, “Guenther was and is a character, but it was evident he lacked the necessary technical leadership. Recognizing the team’s need for technical direction, I took the initiative to engage with Adrian early on.” After more than a decade away from Formula 1, Steiner played a pivotal role in Haas becoming the first American constructor in over 30 years. The team announced its entry in 2014 and joined the F1 grid in 2016, with Steiner appointed as the team principal.
However, earlier this month, it was revealed that Haas opted not to renew Steiner’s contract for the 2024 season. He has since been succeeded by the former trackside engineering director, Ayao Komatsu.
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