Guenther Steiner mentioned he was “stung” by not having the possibility to say a correct farewell to the Haas System One staff after being informed by cellphone final month that his contract as principal was not being renewed.
Haas introduced the shock departure of the 58-year-old Italian, an unintentional cult hero of the Netflix docu-series ‘Drive to Survive’, final Wednesday.
“I did not have the possibility to say thanks to a couple individuals after I left Haas F1. I might identical to to thank all of the staff members who I could not give a correct goodbye to after I left,” Steiner informed an viewers on the Autosport Worldwide Present in Birmingham.
“It stung, however all of them know me they usually all know that I respect what they did. It is all the time greatest to say it to them, it could be good to say, ‘Hey guys, thanks for what you probably did for the staff’.”
Talking for the primary time for the reason that announcement of his substitute by Japanese engineer Ayao Komatsu, Steiner mentioned he acquired the decision from staff proprietor Gene Haas between Christmas and the New 12 months, and indicated he can be in no rush to return to the paddock.
“If there’s one thing attention-grabbing and which challenges me, sure, however simply searching for a job simply to remain in F1, perhaps that is not what I would like,” he mentioned.
Gene Haas mentioned earlier within the week that Steiner’s departure from the staff that completed final general in 2023 all got here all the way down to efficiency.
Steiner indicated nonetheless that the staff’s outsourced enterprise mannequin, taking as a lot from engine-partner Ferrari as the foundations enable and spending rather a lot lower than rivals, might need had its day.
“Everyone is getting stronger, investing rather a lot sooner or later as a result of System One I believe is on an excellent path with the place it’s going in the mean time and that is what is required to remain aggressive,” Steiner mentioned.
“On the opposite aspect, I see the place different individuals are going and the mannequin we began with firstly I believe was an excellent mannequin. However perhaps it isn’t time-relevant any extra.”