Haas Not Planning To Leave F1 Amid Speculations After Departure Of Guenther Steiner
F1Friday, 12 January 2024 at 05:00
Gene Haas- the owner of the Haas Formula One team, clarified he does not plan to sell his team after speculations of potential withdrawal arose.
Gene Haas entered Formula One with his team eight years ago, in 2016. His team has not amassed much success, and throughout the eight years, they haven't got a single podium.
Moreover, Haas's best result was in 2018, when the team finished fifth in the Championship. Otherwise, the American team has been stuck at the back of the grid.
With no signs of improvement in recent years and the departure of the key team member - Guenther Steiner, some started speculating whether the team owner might be considering selling his team. Gene Haas told formula1.com:
"I didn’t get into F1 to sell [the team]. Guenther had the same perspective. We’re not here to cash out, we want to race and be competitive."
Haas's consistently bad results have been blamed for a long time on the insufficient amount of money. It was also suggested that the team principal was leaving because he wanted more investment from the team owner. However, the American explained:
"There is a perception we spend a lot less money; we’re usually within $10m of the budget limit. We haven’t exceeded the cap but we’re pretty darn close to it. I just don’t think we’re doing a very good job of spending it in the most effective way."
Haas is one of the smallest teams on the grid, but there are other small teams that achieved better results and they all have something promising going for them.
Sauber/ Stake is about to be rebranded to Audi in 2026, AlphaTauri is moving closer to Red Bull with a promise of improved performance, and Williams has undergone big changes in infrastructure with their new team principal.
Gene Haas suggested his team has been able to stay in Formula One as opposed to some other new teams because they have been careful with their spending.
The team owner is confident his team has enough resources to secure better results than they have been achieving in recent years while not going bankrupt at the same time.
"We’re one of the longest surviving teams, everyone else [other new teams] have had the tendency to spend all their money in the first few years and then they go out of business."
"We survived for eight years, and we’re not in a situation where we are going to go out of business. But I certainly want to be able to survive for the next 10 years."
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