Guenther Steiner Fires Back At Ayao Komatsu's 'Excuse' Remark- 'Should Concentrate On His Job'

Saajan Jogia | Aug 24, 2024

Oct 22, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Haas Formula One Team engineer Guenther Steiner is interviewed before practice for the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has asked the current team boss, Ayao Komatsu, to "concentrate on his job" in response to Komatsu's remarks. Komatsu had criticized Steiner for allegedly mismanaging the team and making excuses that hindered efforts to resolve the car's issues.

After a disappointing 2023 season in which Haas managed only 12 points and finished last in the Constructors’ Championship, the team's progress since their challenging 2021 campaign faltered, leading to Steiner's departure.

Steiner was instrumental in establishing the foundation for Haas in 2016, forging key partnerships with Ferrari and Dallara. According to the Italian-American former team boss, the team's decline in performance was due in part to a lack of significant investment from founder Gene Haas, whose philosophy was to only invest when the team delivered strong results.

As a result, Steiner was replaced by trackside engineering director Komatsu ahead of the 2024 season. Since then, several changes have been implemented within the team, leading to a notable improvement as Haas has already surpassed its points tally from the previous year, indicating a positive trend compared to last season.

In a recent interview with RacingNews365.com, Komatsu revealed that there had been issues with the car that needed addressing since 2019, highlighting shortcomings under Steiner's leadership. He said:

“The reason [Gene] got frustrated over the years, for some there is an excuse like COVID [in 2020], but last year, there was no excuse.

“There was always some excuse like: ‘Okay, this year we are not developing because we are just preparing for next year.

“For 2023, there is no excuse and then what happened in 2023 is because we didn’t fundamentally address the issues of 2019.

“That is people being in denial, pointing the finger at certain things.

“We were never working properly as a team, that was totally clear.”

In response to Komatsu's comments, former team principal Guenther Steiner shared his perspective on Haas' recent history, stating bluntly that Komatsu "doesn't know what he's talking about." Here's what he said on The Red Flags podcast:

“Woah, the genius Ayao Komatsu [laughs].

“I think if he’s going back to 2019, it was a different world, you know. So he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about there.

“I mean, last year, I was always pretty clear, last year, the concept of the car was wrong and it was admitted in June, and it was changed.

“And therefore, he should thank that one, because that made it possible to have, in 2024, a good car at the beginning of the season, which he had nothing to do at all with it, you know, he had zero to do. It’s all to do with the people which are now working very well, you know, also bringing upgrades."

He added:

“But, for example, in ’22, there was no money to make upgrades. There was just no cash. I mean, we didn’t have any money to do upgrades.

“And last year, there was no upgrades because there was no performance found in the wind tunnel. If you don’t find performance, no point to make upgrades and trying to kid yourself, you know, it was better to focus on the next one.

“And thank God that was done last year, otherwise he wouldn’t score points sometimes, because the last two races, I wouldn’t say that they performed what the car is capable of. In Spa, I mean, it was I think the slowest car.

“But the proof is in the pudding. Let’s wait a little bit, until this regulation is over, and then we can see how good everything is.

“And I wish everybody well. I have no axe to grind or anything, you know, against these people. But it’s like Ayao Komatsu tries to be confrontational with me, I mean, he should concentrate on his job. And I’m not working there anymore. I cannot help you buddy, you know, buddy, you’re on your own now.”