Haas F1 is certainly in a new era following the departure of long-time team leader Guenther Steiner.
Steiner was with the team from the very beginning as he was hired by Gene Haas to front the NASCAR owner's foray into F1 in 2014.
His charm and drive to make Haas F1 one of the best teams in Formula One were unmatched as he quickly became one of the top attention grabbing members of the paddock. That included a major role in the F1 Netflix series "Drive to Survive."
His popularity among fans only grew from that show, with his colorful language that likely wasn't too favorable with everyone, but that is just his nature, as Steiner likes to tell it like it is.
As for his removal from Haas, Steiner finally spoke this week with several different media members.
He spoke with Sky Sports F1 Commentator David Croft at the Autosports International 2024 event.
From the highs of helping the team rise from nothing over a decade ago, to how he was informed that his contract was not being renewed, Steiner covered all the bases.
Yet his biggest takeaway was his regret in not being able to say goodbye to the team in person.
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"I didn't have the chance to say thank you to a few people when I left Haas F1. I would just like to thank all the team members who I couldn't give a proper goodbye to when I left," Steiner said. "So I'll do it this way. And I want to say also to all the fans who supported us while I was there, it's fantastic — thank you to everybody for the support I got and I am getting, so I'm mega appreciative."
Steiner then talked about the phone call from Haas informing him that his contract would not be renewed. Steiner admitted that he was surprised by the news, but acknowledged that it was Haas's right to run the team how he saw fit. As for Steiner's future in the sport, he is in no hurry about his plans and described himself as "chill."
"If Formula 1 wants me, I don't know," Steiner said. "In our situation, I'm not in a hurry, you know. There are always people who will see me around in Formula 1; I've met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. If there's something interesting and which challenges me, yes but just looking for a job just to stay in F1, maybe that's not what I want."
Whatever Steniner's future holds, that's up to him, but his charm and presence will surely be missed atop Haas F1.
