In 2020, Haas decided to give its experienced drivers a boot and recruit the rookies who brought in green bills and the biggest name the sport has ever seen. They recruited Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. While both the drivers had shown promise in the junior categories, the duo had an underwhelming showing in the worst-developed car on the grid. And the ruthless Steiner, now accused of bullying one of the rookies, Mick Schumacher, led the infamous ousting of Nikita Mazepin. However, the TP seems to deflect the blame entirely.
The man who said the famous line “We look like a bunch of f*****g wankers”, Guenther Steiner, is someone who has won hearts all across for his bluntness. While the man led the troubled American team Haas out of misery to look like a “bunch of legends” the journey leading up to it hasn’t been a joy ride. The subsequent depiction in seasons 4 and 5 of ‘Drive to Survive’ showed the struggles and frustrations in full swing. Yet the Italian Engineer believes he isn’t to be blamed for the events that unfolded.
As quoted by Motorsport-Total, he said, “I spoke to the entire board. It was obvious. I spoke to Uralkali’s chairman, Gene [Haas], and in the evening we ended the relationship. We didn’t know then what to do with Nikita, because you don’t want to destroy a young man’s career. But when it turned out that wasn’t going to stop, a few weeks later we made the decision that he wouldn’t end the season can begin for us.”
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He further clarified, “There was a long lead up to the invasion. I was hoping they wouldn’t do it. Then we woke up one morning and they had invaded Ukraine. I was like, ‘What the hell now?'”
While he ousted one driver and doesn’t want to shoulder any blame for it, he has shrugged off any responsibility from the boot given to junior Schumacher.
“you cannot beat up a dead horse,” says Guenther Steiner
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The man who is an F2 and F3 champ was fired by the American team. And in the aftermath of taking responsibility, Steiner has now shifted the blame onto Schumachers’ upbringing and skills.
The Haas boss says it is a tricky business to handle a person with the Schumacher name. Steiner further added, “Dealing with a Schumacher is not easy, as you can imagine. He was grown up about it. He wasn’t happy. I would say he saw the writing on the wall. He is a clever kid. He had two years. We didn’t get where we wanted to and I had to make some changes. You cannot beat up a dead horse.”
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