Haas F1 Team announced Wednesday that Guenther Steiner, team principal for the U.S.-based team since its debut season in 2016, has left the organization "with immediate effect" and is being replaced by Ayao Komatsu. Steiner, a longtime F1 team executive, was the third longest-tenured team principal for any Formula One organization.
Steiner's dismissal comes after Haas finished last in the F1 constructors' championship in 2023, continuing its decline from relevance since a fifth-place finish in 2018. Steiner's replacement, Komatsu, steps into the role after having served as Haas' director of engineering.
Komatsu will now oversee all competition elements of Haas F1 Team, and he will be joined by a European-based chief operating officer to manage "all non-competition matters and departments."
"I'd like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future," read a statement by team owner Gene Haas. "Moving forward as an organization it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances. In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.
"We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organization. We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team. I'm looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximize our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula 1."
After previously working for Jaguar Racing and Red Bull Racing, Steiner was hired by Haas F1 Team in 2014 and became enormously popular through his portrayal on Netflix's "Drive to Survive" series, which highlighted his blunt and profanity-laden rants. However, Haas F1 Team -- the lone American constructor in F1 -- has yet to win a race or earn a podium finish in its history.
With Komatsu calling the shots in 2024, Haas F1 Team will once again field two cars for drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg.
