Steiner-Haas, controversial farewell
The interruption of the relationship between Gunther Steiner and the Haas it wasn’t painless, but the former team principal – who still remained very present in the paddock as an expert for some TVs – can smile today. At least as regards the first round of the legal battle waged by Gene Haas and his Haas Automation against Steiner himself: the Federal Court of the Central District of California in fact ruled against the company in the first instance sentence pronounced regarding the alleged illicit profits earned by the South Tyrolean manager by exploiting the name of Haas in his book “Surviving to Drive”.
The trial in California
The trial began in January 2024, shortly after the employment relationship between Steiner and the Haas F1 team ended. The American company, among the leaders in the industrial machine tool sector, complained about the incorrect use of its name in the autobiographical book of the former number one on the wall. As reported by RacingNews365the Californian Court, however, rejected Gene Haas’ requests, maintaining that “Steiner’s book recounts his experience as team principal of the Formula 1 team” and how this required “necessarily to mention the name Haas, as happens in many other sports biographies”.
Judge André Birotte Jr. then adds that “the use of the Haas trademark is artistically relevant to the bookwhich chronicles Steiner’s experience as team principal of Haas F1 during the 2022 season. The use of photos that include the Haas logo is an artistic choice to give additional context around the events of the championship”. The issue of the illicit use of the Haas name in Steiner’s book – which announced the imminent arrival of a sequel – is however not the only open legal battle between Steiner and his former team: the Merano manager has in fact taken Gene Haas to court for alleged arrears relating to the 2021-2023 periodbut a ruling is not expected by the end of the year.
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