Haas avoid huge bill for sacking Guenther Steiner as F1 plan becomes clear

11 January 2024 , 10:22

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Team owner Gene Haas will avoid handed Guenther Steiner a major pay day after sacking the Italian (Image: Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

Haas have avoided forking out a huge pay-off to Guenther Steiner after opting to ditch the Italian.

Steiner left his role as team principal with the American squad on Wednesday after 10 years in charge. For much of their time in the sport, Haas have struggled to perform, finishing rock bottom of the constructor standings last season, with just 12 points.

But Steiner won plaudits for the way he led the team, with his reign including a pole position in the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix and a fifth-place finish in the standings in 2018. But recent years have seen a steady downturn in results.

That has prompted team owner Gene Haas to move on from the much-loved Steiner, replacing him with engineering chief Ayao Komatsu. But Haas will not have to hand Steiner a major pay day, with the Italian having been out of contract.

That means he will leave the team for free, having led them during their first eight years in the sport. Despite his popularity though, owner Haas is adamant that it was clear a change in the team's leadership was needed after a miserable season.

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“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 organization it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances," he said.

"In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management. We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organization.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Have Haas made the right decision by sacking Guenther Steiner? Comment below.

Ayao Komatsu has bee appointed as the new Haas F1 team principal (LAT Photo/Haas F1 Team)

"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. I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential.”

Komatsu has been promoted from his role as Director of Engineering, having been with the team since their debut season. He has more thn 20 years of experience on F1, having also worked at BAR and Renault.

The Japanese engineer will now assume responsibility for the team’s overall strategy and ultimately on-track performance. A Chief Operating Officer will also be appointed, with Komatsu grateful for the opportunity.

“I’m naturally very excited to have the opportunity to be Team Principal. Having been with the team since its track-debut back in 2016 I’m obviously passionately invested in its success in Formula 1," he said.

"I’m looking forward to leading our program and the various competitive operations internally to ensure we can build a structure that produces improved on-track performances. We are a performance-based business.

“We obviously haven’t been competitive enough recently which has been a source of frustration for us all. We have amazing support from Gene and our various partners, and we want to mirror their enthusiasm with an improved on-track product."

Jacob Leeks