Guenther Steiner expects Haas to struggle to “keep up” without new F1 structure

Ex-Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner doubts his former team will be able to “keep up” with their midfield rivals unless they change how they operate.

Steiner’s shock departure from Haas was announced at the start of January.

The Austrian had been the figurehead of Haas since their debut in 2016.

It soon transpired that he and team owner Gene Haas had differing views on the direction of the team, leading him to be replaced by Ayao Komatsu.

The change is unlikely going to bring any immediate success as Komatsu has already admitted that Haas are likely going to have a tough start to 2024.

Analysing his old team, Steiner believes that Haas have no chance of keeping up with the likes of Williams and AlphaTauri if they don’t start investing in their facilities.

“I wanted to invest in the team, he didn’t,” Steiner told Auto Motorsport. “We simply had different views on how things should proceed. The way the team was set up, you couldn’t ask for much more. This is not a criticism of the team, but the reality.

“The budget cap has completely changed Formula 1. Old structures no longer work.

“McLaren, Williams, [and] AlphaTauri have been investing for two years in the infrastructure so that they have more budget for the operational business. If you don’t follow suit, you can’t expect to be able to keep up.”

Steiner conceded that Haas did go down the wrong route with their design concept for 2023.

However, he feels that Haas’ smaller workforce only makes things more difficult for the American outfit.

“It’s no secret that we were at an impasse with our concept and that it took us too long to react,” the Italian added.

“That’s what happens when you only have half as many people as others. But our guys didn’t do such a bad job.”