The 58-year-old Italian has been replac♚ed by the tea💫m’s former director of engineering, Ayao Komatsu, just over a month before the sta🀅rt of the 2024 F1 season. 

Steiner’s shock departure followed a difficult and disappointing campaign for Haas, who only scored 12 po🉐ints across 22 races in 2023 and slumped to last place in the constructors’ championship. 

While Haas made it clear that was not directly Steiner’s fault, the A🔯merican outfit’s dismal lack of competitiveness ultimately swayed the decision not to extend his contract, which expired at the end of 2023. 

“It came down to performance,” Haas told F1.com. “Here we are in our eighth year, ove🐟r 𓄧160 races – we have never had a podium. The last couple of years, we’ve been 10th or ninth.

“I’m not sitting here saying it’s Guenther’s fault, or anything like that, but it just seems like this 🌱was an appropriate time to make a change and try a different direction🦋, because it doesn’t seem like continuing with what we had is really going to work.”

Haas added: “It is, I like Guenther♚, he’s a really nice person, a really good personality. We had a tough end t🙈o the year. I don’t understand that, I really don’t. 

“Those are good questions to ask Guenther, what went wrong. At the end of the day, it’s about performance. I hav♛e no interest in being 10th anymore.”

Haas believes his team should be capable of finishing much highꦆer in the championship. 

“We need to do better,” he says. “It’s easier to keep sponsors and attract spons🉐ors if we’re a mid-pack team and not a dead last team. That’s my perspective ꦫon it. 

“At the same time, if we can run a little faster, we’ll get more FOM [Formula One Management] money, which will make life a bit 🧸e🌠asier.

“It’s really all about winning. We have🍌 a great team, we have great engines, we have really great drivers. There’s no reason why we are 10th. I can’t understand how we can be with all the equipment and people we have.”