Gene Haas’ refusal to onboard a $20,000,000 sponsor to the team forced Guenther Steiner to resign from his TP position - Reports
F1 pundit Jack Plooij claimed that former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner resigned from his position after team owner Gene Haas refused an offer he made ahead of the 2024 season.
The Italian-American was let go from his position as the leader of the only American team on the grid after ten years with them in the sport. However, the details regarding his departure have been kept under wraps by all the parties involved.
As per Formulapassion.it, Plooij spoke to Guenther Steiner about his exit and revealed that he brought in a $20 million sponsor ahead of the season to Haas F1 and wanted shares in the Haas F1 team. The Ziggo Sport reporter said on the Race Cafe program:
"Günther and I spoke at the beginning of the week, but we weren't allowed to ask how it actually went with Haas and what he would do. But then he sent me a message, allowing me to tell him what happened.
"Günther found a 20 million sponsor but told Gene Haas he wanted shares in the team to stay and continue the relationship. Haas however did not accept, and so Steiner himself left the team."
Guenther Steiner chimes in on his role as F1 pundit for the 2024 season
Guenther Steiner revealed that he would be joining the German broadcaster RTL as a pundit for several races in the 2024 season.
Speaking with Motorsport.com, Steiner compared his stint as an F1 expert to former three-time World Champion Niki Lauda's and said:
"I'm just what they call the expert commentator, like in the good old days Niki Lauda did. It came together very quickly. They texted me last Sunday, asking if I was interested. We talked on Monday, they had a meeting between themselves, and on Tuesday, they asked if I could do it. I said, ‘Sure, why not?’
“It's just they were looking for somebody, and I think they want to rejuvenate a little bit their program, not always the same people, and just came up with my name, and I spoke with them."
Steiner added that his life was full of 'surprises' and he wasn't worried about his future when he left the Haas F1 team.
"As I always say, my life is always full of surprises. When people asked me in January ‘What are you going to do now?’ I said: ‘I'm not worried about what I'm going to do. I mean, I don't know what is coming.’ And these things came.”