Former Haas Chief Guenther Steiner's New Book 'Unfiltered' Drops Shocking Story

Saajan Jogia | 2 Hours Ago

Guenther Steiner, team principal of Haas F1 Team, smiles as the team announces MoneyGram as their title sponsorship for the 2023 season and beyond during a press conference at Circuit of the Americas on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. Formula One Mlc 00005 / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner is promoting his new book, 'Unfiltered', which chronicles his journey with the American team from its Formula 1 debut in 2016 to the announcement of his departure in January of this year. In a chapter titled "Gene's Beans," Steiner makes a startling claim that he insists is entirely true.

The narrative revolves around Haas team owner Gene Haas, with whom Steiner collaborated closely throughout the years. However, their relationship hit a new low after Haas finished the 2023 season at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship.

While Steiner pointed to Gene's lack of funding as a factor in the team's declining performance, Gene countered that the limited potential for improvement within the team prevented him from making additional investments. He believed that positive results were essential to motivate him to allocate more resources.

While the 59-year-old team boss was replaced by the team's director of engineering, Ayao Komatsu, Steiner has since been busy with commentator duties for various channels during Formula 1 race weekends. Known for his candid opinions and colorful character, Steiner was always a fan favorite, which earned him a public-facing role.

However, he prefers to call himself "a very busy, unemployed guy," as stated to The Athletic, where he talks about his bitter relationship with Gene, which got worse after Steiner was informed about his sacking on the phone.

It wasn't just the dismissal itself that pained Steiner, but the manner in which it occurred. This experience has prompted him to discuss his upcoming book, which has kept him busy during a 25-day promotional tour across the UK. According to the report, Steiner's feelings towards Gene are mentioned throughout the book, which is dedicated to his family and everyone associated with Haas, both past and present—“Except you, Gene!!”

Speaking of the "Gene's Beans" story, Steiner revealed how he was served baked beans on a private jet when he asked for food. However, when he eventually refused to have the beans, Gene, who was also on the plane, suggested that the beans be taken back to the factory since he did not want them wasted. Steiner, who was astonished by his remark, emphasized that this was a real story. He said:

“This is real.

“I told the ghostwriter that story, and he said, ‘Are you f——  making this s— up?’ I said, ‘No, this is true! This is what I lived for 10 years!’

“You read ‘Gene’s Beans,’ and you know who you’re dealing with.” [sic]

Haas chose not to provide any commentary regarding the anecdote or the book.