F1 | Steiner: “Too many years at Haas. I would like a project with prospects”

A week after the first point obtained by Haas at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in the 2024 Formula 1 season under the guidance of new team principal Ayao Komatsu, Guenther Steiner returns to talk about his adventure with the American team which lasted 8 consecutive years .

The former team principal of the US team, via the F1.com website where he has a column, explained the first sensations he felt in being away from Haas and Formula 1. A period of deep reflection, which led him to realize an aspect important: he should probably have left his now former role first, then explaining the reasons for this statement.

“Life has been good since I left Haas ahead of this season,” he wrote. “These last few weeks are the first time I've been away from F1 for about a decade. This period has been positive for me.”

“The more time passes, the more I realize I stayed at Haas too long. When you move away, you gain clarity and understand what needs to be done. While you're there, you deny everything, you think you can do it but you can't” .

“With what we had, you could still fight to be seventh, eighth or ninth, but you couldn't fight for the podium without the same weapons as the others,” he added.

Steiner confirmed that he had had enough of fighting for the back-up positions in a world championship as important as F1. He admitted that he needed a new challenge, one that had different perspectives from those now consolidated at Haas, that is, growing from year to year to be able to compete for the positions that matter.

“Doing this long-term is not what I want to do in life. I don't want to be seventh again. I've already done that. I want to be able to fight, to fight in the lead.”

“When Toto Wolff started with Mercedes, the team was not yet at the top. Of course, at the beginning they had the engine advantage, but he fine-tuned everything to be successful in the medium term – and they won eight Constructors' championships” .

“It's the same thing with Red Bull. How long did it take them to get there? Every year they kept getting better. It takes patience and long-term planning.”

Steiner did not rule out returning to an active role in the future, if circumstances allow, saying: “I would return to F1 in the future, but it has to be the right project, done well.”