Haas sues Guenther Steiner for alleged trademark infringements in his Surviving to Drive autobiography - Reports

Haas F1 has reportedly sued Guenther Steiner for trademark infringements in his autobiography Surviving to Drive. This accusation was made after Steiner sued the team for not paying him the commissions that they owed.

Though Steiner left Haas on good terms on the surface, tension gradually brewed between the Drive to Survive sensation and the American team. The former team principal reportedly took the team to court in North Carolina and accused them of withholding commissions from him.

It now turns out the team itself has something against the Italian-American engineer.

According to a report from Autosport, the Kannapolis-based team accused Steiner of illegally using images in his biography, Surviving to Drive, that go against its trademark rules. The team reportedly lodged court papers against their former team boss at the Central District of California, West Division.

Steiner worked with Ten Speed Press for more than a year to publish the Surviving to Drive autobiography. It was originally published in April 2023 and had been sold 150,000 times by January 2024.

As per Autosport, the documents submitted to the court claimed that Steiner's biography had pictures in it that violated the team's trademark rules. Haas stated that it never permitted him to use the team trademarks for his personal work.

The statement also reportedly claimed that the team warned Steiner before the legal action, but did not receive a satisfactory response from him. This left Haas no choice but to take the legal route.

"In 2023, without permission or consent from Haas Automation, Steiner authored, marketed, promoted, sold, distributed, and profited from a publication titled 'Surviving to Drive' (the 'Accused Product'), which unlawfully used and displayed, and continues to use and display, the Haas Automation Trademarks and the Haas Automation Trade Dress for Steiner’s personal financial gain and illicit profit," the documents reportedly read.

"Haas Automation never consented to Steiner’s use of the Haas Automation Trademarks or the Haas Automation Trade Dress on the Accused Product."

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Guenther Steiner blames Haas higher-ups for not supporting the team

Guenther Steiner recently pointed fingers at Haas owner Gene Haas for not supporting the team while it was struggling in F1.

Speaking on LeBatardShow in April 2024, Steiner stated that he would have left the team a year ago. He further claimed that Gene did not support the team financially to enable it to compete with top teams.

"I said it before now, I should have left a year before because for me, in my opinion, [it was] the way to nowhere. There was not the backing of the owner, of the finances, to go and challenge the better teams. I could have worked another five years to run seventh, eighth, ninth in the championship [but] I didn't want to do that anymore," Steiner said.

Haas is currently seventh in the constructors' championship with only seven points. The American outfit is only followed by other backmarkers like Sauber, Alpine, and Williams.