What Guenther Steiner is expected to do next after departing as Haas team principal

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Haas owner Gene Haas made the huge decision yesterday to part ways with team principal Guenther Steiner just weeks before the start of the next season of Formula 1.

After 10 years with Haas and having led them since their very first race in F1, the American team will have a new face on the pit wall in Bahrain next month.

A report from The Athletic has now shared what Guenther Steiner is expected to do going forward.

It’s safe to say that the 2023 season did not go to plan for Haas.

While they had some decent pace during qualifying, they simply couldn’t sustain it during races.

Tyre degrading was a huge issue and Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen couldn’t even agree on which version of their car was quicker.

Steiner admitted that the Dane hated their launch car last year, while Hulkenberg outraced his teammate after finally joining the team after years of being chased by the 58-year-old.

Unfortunately, Haas and Steiner had different ideas on what next steps to take to lift their car team off the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship.

It meant a parting of ways that few saw coming and will have big implications on and off the track for the team.

The Haas F1 team may not have bared his name, but the majority of casual fans recognise Steiner as the face of the manufacturer.

Steiner’s next steps after Haas departure

The report from The Athletic states that they expect Steiner to take some time away from Formula 1 before considering his next move in racing.

Steiner has other business ventures and he’s likely to be offered plenty of media opportunities due to his rise to fame thanks to the Drive to Survive series on Netflix.

It would be no surprise if some of the biggest broadcasters approached Steiner to become a part of their team.

He was loved among F1 fans for being brutally honest about his driver’s performances and his own.

In Ayao Komatsu, Haas have gone in a completely different direction to Steiner for their next team principal.

The 47-year-old comes from an engineering background and will be fully focused on the development of the car.

While that might make sense in Gene Haas’s head, Haas were close to maximising their performance based on their rather basic facilities.

Investment is needed, especially at their Banbury base, and Formula 1 is about so much more than just what happens on track.

Steiner attracted so much media and fan interest in a team that have never even finished on the podium.

If that drops off under Komatsu, then it might be difficult for the team to see a long-term future in the sport.