F1: Gunther Steiner-Haas, surprise separation

Gunther Steiner no longer è the team principal of Haas

Haas F1 changes the leadership at the pitwall: in a decision surprising in its ways, having not been anticipated except in the hours immediately preceding the official announcement, the U.S. team announced the farewell to Gunther Steiner. The role of team principal, after ten years, passes from the hands of the manager from Alto Adige to those of Ayao Komatsu.

"The MoneyGram Haas F1 Team has appointed Ayao Komatsu as its new team principal,” reads the note posted on the team’s official suto, “with Gunther Steiner departing the’organization with immediate effect, after serving in the role for the past decade. Komatsu, promoted from the role of Director of Engineering, has been with the team since its debut season in 2016 and began his experience as Chief Race Engineer".

"Komatsu,” the team continued in the note that shook up the Formula 1 world on Wednesday, “will assume responsibility for overall strategy and ultimately on-track performance, with the goal of maximizing the team’s potential through employee empowerment, structural process and efficiency".

Gene Haas, founder and owner of the team, commented firsthand on the decision to replace Steiner with Komatsu: "I would like to start by thanking Gunther Steiner for all his hard work over the past ten years and wishing him well for the future. We have achieved some successes, but we need to be consistent in getting results that will help us achieve our broader goals as an organization".

"We need to be efficient with the resources we have, improving our design and engineering capabilities. I look forward to working with Ayao and ensuring that we maximize our potential: my desire remains to achieve the best possible results in Formula 1".