Steiner asserts a role in Haas F1’s success, highlighting the team’s efforts on the VF-24.
Gunther Steiner downplayed the significant leap forward made by Haas F1 Team in 2024, attributing part of the current merits to himself.
As team principal from its inception until early 2024, Steiner was instrumental in establishing the unique structure of the small American team—before being ousted by owner Gene Haas.
Both parties are now engaged in legal disputes as Haas F1 makes a significant leap forward in 2024 with Steiner’s successor, Ayao Komatsu, at the helm.
A major car upgrade was introduced in Austria, catching the eye of Daniel Ricciardo at RB F1.
“Nico (Hulkenberg) scored big points these last weekends. Suddenly, our lead for sixth place vanished. On the other hand, it’s motivating to watch Haas F1 because they’ve clearly found something. There’s still time in the lap to be found, so we need to find it too.”
Hulkenberg, set to move to Sauber / Audi at year’s end, agreed: “Every time we put something on the car, it worked pretty much as expected.”
“We made some changes to our aerodynamics department last year and at the end of last year, and I think we’re seeing the results now. The department seems to be operating more efficiently. We’ve kept pace with others in terms of development and maybe even done a bit better. It’s really a comeback.”
“The car is quite good this year,” admits Steiner. “But it was built by the people who worked on it last year. I’m not pointing fingers. I was just a part of it.”
“I give a lot of credit to Simone Resta for that, and he’s gone too. We sat down last June and said we needed to do something. That was the goal and it worked.”
Resta was the technical director of Haas F1 and is currently on ‘gardening leave’ before his transfer to Mercedes F1 in October.
“When I left the team, the car was designed and just needed to be assembled,” Steiner insists. “That happened under my watch, if that’s the right word. Because I didn’t build the car.”
“Simone also left because we probably both thought we were at a dead end. It was frustrating.”
“I’ve said several times that sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward. The team wanted something different. They didn’t want the same thing anymore, and they have every right to. And I don’t have to be a part of it. I don’t know if they can continue to progress. And I don’t really care much, to be honest.”
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Steiner Claims Share in Haas F1’s Success Story Steiner Claims Share in Haas F1’s Success Story
