Motor racing-Steiner 'stung' by lack of a proper farewell to Haas

Komatsu

13/01/2024 15:12

Jan 13 (Reuters) - Guenther Steiner said on Saturday he
was "stung" by not having the chance to say a proper farewell to
the Haas Formula One team after being told by phone last month
that his contract as principal was not being renewed.
    Haas announced the shock departure of the 58-year-old
Italian, an accidental cult hero of the Netflix docu-series
'Drive to Survive', last Wednesday.
    "I didn't have the chance to say thank you to a few people
when I left Haas F1. I would just like to thank all the team
members who I couldn't give a proper goodbye to when I left," he
told an audience at the Autosport International Show in
Birmingham.
    "It stung, but they all know me and they all know that I
appreciate what they did. It's always best to say it to them, it
would be nice to say, 'Hey guys, thanks for what you did for the
team’."
    Speaking for the first time since the announcement of his
replacement by Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu, Steiner said he
received the call from team owner Gene Haas between Christmas
and the New Year, and indicated he would be in no rush to return
to the paddock.
    "If there's something interesting and which challenges me,
yes, but just looking for a job just to stay in F1, maybe that’s
not what I want," he said.
    Gene Haas said earlier in the week that Steiner's departure
from the team that finished last overall in 2023 all came down
to performance.
    Steiner indicated however that the team's outsourced
business model, taking as much from engine-partner Ferrari as
the rules allow and spending a lot less than rivals, might have
had its day.
   "Everybody is getting stronger, investing a lot in the future
because Formula One I think is on a very good path with where it
is going at the moment and that's what is needed to stay
competitive," he said.
    "On the other side, I see where other people are going and
the model we started with at the beginning I think was a very
good model. But maybe it's not time-relevant any more."

 (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, Editing by Hugh Lawson)
 ((alan.baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; +442075427933;))