"Haas seriously risks becoming a bland, identity-less underachiever": F1 fraternity reacts to Guenther Steiner getting axed from Haas

The departure of Guenther Steiner from the Haas team on Wednesday took the whole F1 fraternity by surprise as the American team let go of its most prized asset.

The Italian-American engineer was a popular figure in the paddock owing to his appearance in the Netflix series Drive to Survive, which endeared him to fans and media alike. For advisors and sponsors, Steiner was considered the biggest pull of the smallest team on the grid, despite Haas' lackluster performances.

Haas F1 team owner Gene Haas informed fans about Guenther Steiner's exit in his press release and said (via F1.com):

“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 needed to improve our on-track performances."

F1 media were left shocked at the announcement with The Race journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm questioning the move and claiming that it had put the team in a risky position, saying:

"With Steiner gone, Haas seriously risks becoming a bland, identity-less underachiever. That will be a big hit to the team. And it's a loss for F1 as well."

F1 media reacts to Guenther Steiner's exit from the Haas F1 team

Guenther Steiner shared a pretty good relationship with the F1 media and never shied away from answering controversial questions.

The Race journalist Edd Straw claimed that the American team was drifting along instead of making strides and moving forward in the sport. He said:

"This change only serves to underscore the impression that Haas is a team that’s being allowed to drift at a time when it should be pushing on to make the most of the opportunity presented by the prevailing conditions in F1."

F1 Pundit Gary Anderson pointed out that the Haas F1 team would always be weak in management if Gene Haas fails to appoint a leader on the business side and the technical side, saying:

"From my point of view unless Gene Haas makes a shrewd appointment for someone to run the business side of things and a definitive technical director looking after the engineering side of things, then Haas will always be weak in management and direction."

Glen Freeman even questioned the point of the team post-Guenther Steiner's departure and added:

"Haas looks like a team going nowhere at the moment, so unless Steiner was the one holding it back, which seems very unlikely, you have to ask what the point of this team is."

Jack Benyon pointed out that the exit would also impact the viewership of the next season of Drive to Survive:

"Steiner leaving is no doubt a new reason not to watch the series. F1 can only ride the crest of the DTS wave for so long and losing some of the key characters the series has created can’t be a good thing."

Sky Sports of David Croft, Damon Hill, and Craig Slater also gave their take on the news, with Croft saying:

"Formula 1 has lost a massive character, a very popular character, and someone who transcended the sport somewhat."

Former world champion Hill added:

"Fans liked him, he attracted people, he was controversial, he was outspoken but maybe didn't get the results that Gene Haas wanted."

Craig Slater said:

"People have been telling me, from sources inside the factory, that there’ll be a lot of disappointment that Guenther has gone. He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, by the way, which I think will disappoint him."

Haas F1 drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg expressed their gratitude to Guenther Steiner for reviving their F1 careers on their respective social media platforms as well.

It will be interesting to see how the team fares under new leadership in the upcoming seasons.