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🏎 Steiner Speaks Out
Guenther Steiner opens up and tells his side of the split from Haas F1
Kyle Dager
January 17, 2024
Good morning! It wasn’t too long ago that we were recapping the final races of 2023. Now we’re just weeks away from the start of the 2024 season! Today’s newsletter is a PACKED one as we hear from Netflix star turned team principal, Guenther Steiner, and even a special note from Parker Kligerman!
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Haas’ Hard Goodbye
🏎️ In a recent interview, Guenther Steiner, former Haas F1 team principal, opened up about his departure and the team's struggles. Steiner, who formed the team for Gene Haas in 2014, expressed his views at the Autosport International Show.
🔄 "The contract was up and for me, it's like it always was: 'If it doesn't work, just let me know'" Steiner remarked, highlighting his pragmatic approach to the unexpected end of his contract. He remains "chilled" about his future, despite being under an anti-competition signing arrangement.
📉 Haas's poor performance in the 2023 season was a critical factor in Steiner's exit. The team's struggle with car development, particularly with the VF-23, was evident. "I wouldn't say it [his relationship with Gene Haas] went downhill... but obviously the performance wasn't good enough," Steiner reflected.
🤔 Steiner also shared his regrets about delaying changes to the VF-23 concept. The team's late switch to Red Bull's downwash sidepod concept was too little, too late. "Absolutely, it was a little bit late," he admitted, acknowledging the missed opportunity.
💸 The lack of continued investment in Haas F1 also played a role in Steiner's dwindling motivation. He had hoped for more resources under F1's cost cap to improve the team's infrastructure. The team's struggle with the Ferrari engine in 2019 and the near closure in 2020 further compounded their challenges.
🚀 Looking forward, Steiner is relaxed about his future, focusing on opportunities that genuinely interest him. "I'm OK [financially]... If something comes along which interests me, I do it," he stated, leaving his options open for a potential return to the F1 paddock.
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Parker’s POV
Written by: Parker Kligerman
We Don’t Drive Racecars Anymore
First off, thank you for being a subscriber to the Money Lap newsletter. We started this a year ago and we are sorta, kinda sure people enjoy it.
Now “Parker’s POV” without diving into the self-indulgent-narcissistic-asshole-name we have given this. My hope is that it becomes a space for me to opine on the biggest topics in motorsports once a week and something (most likely on Wednesdays) for you to know will have a bit of opinion. I will not be posting these anywhere else.
They also won’t usually be this long!
Let's talk about driving racecars. Wow, what a novel concept for a racecar driver! But really, it's January 16, 2024, and I have not driven a racecar since the Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix on November 4th, 2023. I have a full-time ride (for like the second time in my life) and it's not possible to drive the car. Since NASCAR banned testing, then during COVID realized it didn’t even need practice there is a joke amongst those of us that don’t have Kyle Larson-like schedules “We don’t drive racecars anymore.”
Namely, you’re not allowed. Want to drive something? Well, go race short tracks, dirt, road course stuff. But it better not be the damn thing you’re paid to do! I’ve often joked it's like pro-golfers being told “Don’t you dare swing a club on a course, unless it's a simulator.”
Right because the only thing a majority of us drivers have driven lately is a simulator. Which is about as cool as watching your friends play video games when they only had one working controller on the Xbox.And now we are hearing that (maybe this will be resolved by the time this goes out) no fans can even watch in-person one of the few times NASCAR Cup drivers are actually driving racecars. With the Saturday heat races at the Clash being run without anyone in attendance. How does that make any sense?
As a competitor and broadcaster, I have loved the shorter weekends and less practice (I even loved the show up and race of COVID) but as we have moved past that era, it's become clear to me that we are basically deciding that as a sport, less content is what we want.When, as I have learned in the last year of Money Lap, it's not humanly possible to create enough content for what the social media algorithms desire. They are like an insatiable beast that sports need to satisfy or they will choose to feast on something else.
All you need to know is that there are gentleman drivers paying to race Porsche Cup cars 12 times a year that have larger followings than most NASCAR Cup drivers, who are some of the highest paid racecar drivers in the world. All because they are allowed to have a 4K resolution GoPro in their car, which provides them endless content for the social media algorithms. Obviously, NASCAR is a bigger business and we are not allowed to have GoPros because of rights. but with less content and all this less, less, less.
You get what I felt two years ago at Miami-Homestead Speedway for the playoff race on Friday which was practice and qualifying for Trucks and Xfinity. NASCAR Cup wasn’t on track till Saturday. The place felt so empty and dead, I turned to a friend of mine and said I feel like I’m at an SCCA club race.
I hope things are sorted out to allow fans on Saturday for the heat races at The Clash, or the Cup series drivers will feel what I felt on that unfortunate day in Miami.
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