Guenther Steiner is not sure how much progress his former team Haas can make in Formula 1, questioning Gene Haas’ ambition.

Steiner transitioned into Formula 1 media duties in 2024 after he was replaced by Ayao Komatsu as Haas team principal, Steiner having held the role since the team joined the grid in 2016, while Steiner also put the foundations in place for the Haas F1 entry, such as securing the crucial technical partnerships with Ferrari and Dallara.

Gene Haas happy to just ‘participate’ in F1?

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

It was a positive first season for the American outfit under Komatsu’s leadership, Haas rising from P10 and last to P7 in the F1 2024 Constructors’ Championship standings after scoring 58 points compared to 12 last season.

However, can Haas push on from here and work their way further up the F1 order?

Steiner is not sure that owner Gene Haas is particularly interested in backing the team to pursue that achievement.

Asked by Ouest-France what future he sees for Haas in Formula 1, Steiner replied: “I don’t know how much Mr Haas wants to invest, and the team is still the smallest in the paddock, both in terms of employees and factory… It’s complicated to survive in this world that grows every year.

“My feeling is that Mr Haas is content to be in the second half of the standings and simply participate.

“That’s what frustrates me. I don’t make that much effort just to take part; I love the Olympic spirit, but that’s not me. I want to move forward, to have a goal to follow. I want to compete with others because I’m a competitor.

“I don’t know what he wants to do. To be honest, I did my time there, I built the team, and I’m happy with it. What he does with it doesn’t concern me, and to be completely transparent, I don’t really care.”

Looking back on his time with Haas – which ended following the 2023 season – Steiner said he should have walked after 2022.

Asked if he has any regrets, Steiner replied: “Not a regret, no.

“But maybe with what I know now, I would have left the team in 2022.

“We weren’t going anywhere and we were constantly trying to ‘do more with less’, which is very difficult because everyone else was doing ‘more with more’.

“But I always gave it my all, and in that tunnel, you don’t necessarily see that you’re going nowhere. But that’s not a regret.”

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Komatsu revealed that Gene Haas had messaged him “straight away” after the Abu Dhabi GP with P7 in the Constructors’ secured to say ‘congratulations on the very successful year for the team’, even if “he is the first person disappointed about not getting P6”.

But, looking ahead, Komatsu assured that funding is coming Haas’ way, as they are set to operate at cost cap level for the first time in their history in F1 2025.

“Our target is to be on the budget cap next year,” Komatsu revealed.

“That’s another thing. With Haas, we’ve never been on the budget cap, right? How can you be competitive? So if you’re serious about being competitive, you’ve got to be on the budget cap.

“So yes, that’s our target.”

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