Haas F1 Future Uncertain as Guenther Steiner Leaves it to the Owner to Make Up His Mind

A couple of F1 teams have fallen well below their expectations and one of them is the Haas F1 team. It has even got to a stage where team owner, Gene Haas is debating whether he should continue funding the Formula 1 team.

2020 is set to be Haas F1’s fifth season in the sport since its debut in 2016. However, Gene Haas is wondering about the team’s long-term future in the sport.

For his part, team boss Guenther Steiner’s hands are well and truly tied. According to him, he will have a hard time convincing Gene Haas to continue his Formula One programme. He also did not want to be complacent and suggest that targeting wins could be possible with the 2021 technical regulations.

Speaking to Autosport, Steiner confessed that Gene Haas simply needs to convince himself that Haas F1 is a project worth investing in.

He continued, “He’s got a good enough understanding that if I tell him he can win in 2021, he might say ‘he [Steiner] doesn’t know what he’s doing’. I would have to agree with him. So, I don’t know.”

However, the Italian acknowledged that Haas F1 still have to address a number of issues plaguing the team so he has no idea if Haas should make a decision.

The 54-year old shut down any talks of smaller teams potentially winning races in 2021, and thinks that the momentum will remain with the top teams.

What happened to Haas F1 in 2019?

Haas F1’s poor 2019 form was mystifying, especially considering that it enjoyed a strong 2018 campaign. That year, it cemented itself as a strong midfield runner with P5 in the Constructors’ Championship. The bad news was that the team took two steps back and slumped to P9 in 2019.

What didn’t help matters was the car providing multiple headache after another throughout the a challenging season. This was coupled with their off-track issues with Rich Energy, or their inconsistent drivers, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen.