– Has Gene Haas lost interest in Formula 1? At least that is what his former executive arm Günther Steiner believes. The South Tyrolean, who recently admitted that he has had no contact with the team owner since his departure as team principal of the Haas team, is still unsure about the identity and direction of his former team.
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“As far as Gene Haas is concerned, you would have to invite him yourself to your podcast and ask him what he actually intended [with the team], because I still haven’t understood it to this day,” Steiner says in the podcast High Performance.
“If I am in a sport, if I am in a competitive environment, then I want to win. That is my goal,” he says. “Only one can achieve it, I am fully aware of that. But you give everything and you don’t just settle for being there.”
At the beginning, there was a clear plan for the team, which had entered as the latest racing team before Cadillac, but success and vision diminished over time. Haas, who repeatedly achieved respectable results and even finished fifth in the overall standings in 2018, became a permanent backmarker.
“And at some point – I don’t know – maybe he lost interest in the sport,” Steiner says about Gene Haas. “Or he thought it should be approached differently.”
The relationship between Steiner and Haas deteriorated until it finally broke down, leading Steiner to leave the team before the 2024 Formula 1 season.
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His successor Ayao Komatsu does not share Steiner’s view that Haas has lost interest in Formula 1. On the contrary: “I mean, he was at every single European race this year,” emphasizes the Japanese.
Although Haas will not be present in Zandvoort, he is expected to be on site at all other upcoming European events in Monza and Madrid. “I think I’ve never seen Gene at so many races. And of course, he also comes to the American races,” he emphasizes.
For Komatsu, Haas is a “very, very enthusiastic guy” who also sets high expectations. “But that’s good,” says the Japanese. “I mean, he gets frustrated because he is so focused on the result. He always thinks: We should actually do better.”
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“Yes, I know, Gene, we’re trying! But he is very, very committed, focused and extremely passionate.”
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