P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The unexpected news that Guenther Steiner has been relieved of his Team Principal duties by Gene Haas was more than
Steiner, who had been with the Haas F1 team since its inception in 2014, played a crucial role in getting the team onto the grid in 2016 and running the day-to-day operations. Despite his popularity due to his portrayal in the Netflix Drive to Survive series, the team’s on-track performance has been on a downward trend since its peak in 2018. Steiner made the brave decision to sacrifice competitiveness in the previous season to focus on the current generation of cars for 2022, which resulted in an improved standing for the team. Steiner was also instrumental in the decision to re-hire Kevin Magnussen after Nikita Mazepin’s position became untenable. However, the team’s prospects dimmed as it fell behind the competition, with consistent issues in tire degradation and a development ceiling on the aero concept. Despite the addition of a radically upgraded car, Haas struggled to improve and ultimately, the team decided to part ways with Steiner. Instead of looking externally for a replacement, Gene Haas promoted Ayao Komatsu, the Trackside Engineering Director, to maintain stability within the team.
