Guenther Steiner starts legal action against his former team Haas

Guenther Steiner is taking legal action against his former employer, Haas F1 Team. The Italian served as team principal at the American team from 2014 to 2023. Steiner believes that Haas failed to honour agreements regarding annual commissions in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and is thus taking the matter to court.

In the court documents, the 59-year-old man, who has become popular in recent years due to his appearances in the Netflix series Drive to Survive, claims that his former employer was negligent in paying out certain annual bonuses. "Haas F1 cannot withhold from Mr Steiner the benefits he has earned," it stated.

In addition, Steiner believes that Haas still uses his name for marketing purposes to this day. "Haas F1 has no right to use Mr Steiner's name, image, and likeness or to exploit them in any form of media after the termination of his employment. Haas F1 has not compensated Mr Steiner for its unauthorised use of his name, image, and likeness," the document continued.

Steiner's contract was terminated late last year. The court in Charlotte, in the US state of North Carolina, will make a ruling.

Rise and fall of Steiner

Steiner has many catchphrases attached to him following Drive to Survive, but he has been part of Formula 1 for much longer. Steiner joined Haas from day one. The team boss saw Haas score 29 points in their debut year. In 2017, they scored 47 points before a fifth-place finish in the 2018 World Championship. The team then dropped to the back of the grid and have struggled to score points regularly ever since. This resulted in Steiner leaving Haas during the 2023/24 winter break. In 2024, Haas have managed to score points when the front-runners have opened up chances.