Kevin Magnussen sends message to Guenther Steiner after Haas team principal’s departure

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Haas driver Kevin Magnussen has sent a message to Guenther Steiner after the 58-year-old departed the team as team principal on Wednesday.

Guenther Steiner took over as team principal of Haas when they first entered Formula 1 in 2024.

However, it was confirmed by the team that Steiner was departing the team with immediate effect.

The 58-year-old will be replaced by Ayao Komatsu who has been promoted from his role as Director of Engineering.

Steiner was on the pit wall back in Australia in 2016 as he watched Romain Grosjean score points on the team’s debut in Formula 1.

The Frenchman bettered his sixth-place finish in the following race in Bahrain but inconsistent performances and poor driver choices have seen the team struggle to improve on its minnow status in Formula 1.

Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen couldn’t prevent Haas from finishing bottom of the Constructors’ Championship in 2023 and as a result, Steiner has paid the price.

Magnussen has now sent a message to his former team boss having worked with him for six years as part of the American team.

Magnussen sends Steiner message after Haas exit

Posting on social media, Magnussen said: “Thanks, Günther. Thanks for taking me on the journey in 2017 and thanks for bringing me on board again in 2022.

“It has been both fun and tremendously challenging – but never boring. So long and all the best.”

Steiner was always one of the biggest characters in the paddock and neutrals will miss him as a result.

He rarely minced his words and made his feelings clear whenever either of his drivers made a mistake.

However, the timing of Haas’s decision is strange with the team set to reveal their latest car in the next few weeks.

Steiner admitted that Magnussen was unhappy with Haas’s launch car last year but gave no inkling that he may be about to leave the team.

He had even made a prediction about this year’s driver market with Haas linked to a move for Ollie Bearman.

Formula 1 will miss Steiner and it will be interesting to see how Komatsu fares in his place.