Guenther Steiner had been the face of the Haas F1 team for years, joining the squad since its entry into F1 years ago. Steiner was let go by Haas after the 2023 season, as Gene Haas opted not to renew the Austrian’s contract.

Steiner was understandably peeved about the dismissal but understood the reason behind his departure. In an interview, the former team principal was asked about his dream F1 driver line-up, and he picked Max Verstappen and Niki Lauda as the two drivers he would have partnering each other.

I’d pick Max and Niki Lauda. In his time he was the man which could, you know, even if he was not the fastest he could bring them results and he’s good fun, by the way.

Guenther Steiner said, via AutosportsInternational.

Niki Lauda was one of the most influential figures in F1, even outside of his world championship wins. Lauda advised Michael Schumacher and most notably orchestrated Lewis Hamilton’s move to Mercedes, helping the Briton on his path to six further championship wins.

Guenther Steiner reveals how his dismissal went down

Guenther Steiner was dismissed from Haas after many years of filling in as the team principal of the team. Steiner’s departure brought about a huge management shift at Haas, as Gene Haas asserted his wishes of better results for the team. 

Steiner’s dismissal had come quite abruptly, with no rumours or warnings ahead of the announcement. The Austrian revealed that the decision had been made via phone call, when owner Gene Haas called him to tell him his contract would not be renewed further.

It was a phone call, he called me and said that he does not want to extend the contract which was up at the end of the season and that was it.

Guenther Steiner said, as reported by PlanetF1

Steiner’s exit will have a huge impact on Haas as he was a major part of the media representation of the team. Guenther Steiner also played a major role in the Netflix drama series Drive To Survive, and his sacking will affect the show as well.

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