– I just want to live a dream.
I called the team manager Günther Steinerin the comment left nothing to guess after the season opener.
Fifth, a Danish driver in Bahrain last weekend Kevin Magnussen brought its first score to the US stable since October 2020.
Until that moment, Haas’ journey in the royal class of motorsport had been far from a dream. Last year, the team didn’t get a single point and finished last in the team championship battle.
– The last two seasons were extremely tough for the team, Steiner now tells Sport through a video call.
– Last year there were 22 races. We knew from the beginning that our results in them would be non-existent.
Haas ’recent years have been marked by poor performance and financial hardship. For the latter, the stable sought a solution by concluding a cooperation agreement with the Russian fertilizer company Uralkali before the start of the 2021 season.
Accompanying a sponsorship deal, Haas arrived in Haas in the lower formula classes Nikita MazepinThe owner of the Uralkali oligarch Dmitri Mazepinin son.
“It felt like the worries, the drama – why would you ever want to call it – would never end.”
Uralkali brought vital sponsorship money to the stable, but Mazep and the team’s second first-time Mick Schumacher paid expensive tuition on the track. Following on from Netflix’s Battle of the Pole, F1’s behind-the-scenes events were able to concretely see Steiner’s pain amid exits and technical troubles. Father Mazepin, who had enthusiastically invested in his son’s F1 career, also did not allow the staff of the stable to enter.
– Throughout the year, Steiner laughs at the question, which seemed the heaviest of last season’s moments.
– The whole year 2021 was an equally difficult long moment. I had to constantly motivate myself and keep things going. It was to be believed that this would rise.
Faith was still being tested in the winter tests this season in Barcelona, when the drivers were not allowed to drive enough laps in the last-minute car.
– There were small problems all the time. It felt like the worries, the drama – why ever want to call it – would never end.
Last month has been a revolutionary formula for the number one small garage. As late as February 23, Steiner posed in promotional photos alongside driver duo Mazepin and Schumacher.
Less than a day later, on Thursday morning, February 24, Russia began an ongoing war in Ukraine. Western countries are reacting to events that have shaken the world, including by appointing a president To Vladimir Putin and sanctions on his associates. They also targeted Dmitry Mazepin, who was annexed to Putin. According to EU sources, the boss of Uralkali was one of 37 business leaders, who met Putin and other members of the government after Russia invaded Ukraine. The purpose of the meeting was to consider the impact of sanctions imposed by the West.
Steiner later told the international media that Haas had no choice. Uralkali and with it Nikita Mazepin were allowed to leave.
– The situation that arose with the invasion of Ukraine was not easy for anyone. That should not happen in 2022. We will react to the situation for our part. I think many are happy with the way we handled it, Steiner says.
The fiery team manager puts his word diplomatically on how the events a month ago affected the atmosphere in the stable. Steiner praises the people around him and the U.S. owner of the stable Gene to Haas.
– Our race team and engineers are wondering if we have enough money now. I told them, don’t worry, we’re all right. The same law applies to racing. Developing a good car requires a good technical team, good engineers and mechanics … It also took a good team to figure out such a political issue. We are a small but efficient team. We can make decisions really quickly.
Criticism and legal challenge
The Mazepins have made it clear that you are not with the solution. Nikita Mazepin was harsh in criticizing Haas and Steiner for communicating the dismissal in a message. Steiner has previously said he regrets the fate of the Russian driver, but does not sign his criticism.
– I think the termination of Mazepin’s contract was really professional. There was nothing unusual about it. We complied with all the rules to which we were legally bound by the agreement. I don’t know where his criticism comes from. But he has his opinion and I have mine, the team manager commented.
Uralkali has announced that he will initiate legal proceedings against Haas with the aim of recovering the money invested in the F1 team. According to Uralkali, the operation of the stable has been unreasonable.
The majority of the 2022 sponsorship funding for the period has already been transferred to Haas. The team terminated the co-operation agreement before the opening race of the 2022 season, so it has not fulfilled its obligations to Uralkali this season. Uralkali demands immediate repayment of the funds received by Haas, Uralkali said in a press release.
Haas has remained silent on the Uralkali exit, and Steiner is no exception.
– I’ll leave it to lawyers. It keeps them in the bread.
The Haas F1 has been developed for this season with money from a Russian fertilizer company, but how about now? Steiner said earlier this monththat kicking Uralkal away will leave a big gap in the stable’s economy, but believed new sponsors would patch up the situation.
– Our financial situation is good. We have received a lot of contacts from potential sponsors. We are working on this, but it will take time. We do not want to make hasty decisions that may turn out to be wrong later. There are potential partners on the sponsorship front, but we are doing well without them, he says now.
A decision worth gold
According to Steiner, the sky of Haas has been a story that could not be written in advance. The Mazepin was replaced by Kevin Magnussen, who drove in the garage from 2017 to 2020, and did not allow his brief acquaintance with the 2022 VF-22 car to be disrupted.
Fifth place last weekend was a great relief for Steiner. It showed that the rocky road of the stable would not go on forever.
– On the first weekend of the race, we had a reliable and fast car. It’s fantastic that we did all this kind of comeback after that. I am happy for all the people who did not get discouraged after last year and worked with attitude this season.
According to Steiner, the main reason for the success is the solution made in 2020. At the time, the team decided not to invest in the development of the F1 car for the 2021 season and to save resources for the current year, which includes numerous rule changes.
– If we had tried to invest in last season, we wouldn’t be here now. When I told Gene Haas about the solution in time, he said do what you have to do, hopefully it will work. That’s what happened then. However, it is a different matter to design something than to implement it. The credit for the success belongs to the designers and developers of our car.
Haas would not be Haas without his roller coasters, for better or worse. In Bahrain, the result was a promising 5th and 11th place, and this weekend Magnussen was tenth in the Saudi GP time.
However, teammate Mick Schumacher had a bad accident on the street track in Jeddah when he lost control of his car in time and hit a concrete wall at a speed of more than 250 kilometers per hour. Haas announced Saturday night that the German driver taken to the hospital was fine but had to skip a race on Sunday. Haas will leave for Sunday’s race in one car.
Despite the setback, the team’s goal is to fight for points during the rest of the season. Belief in car performance is back.
– Bahrain has shown that we can do it. It is clear that in order to succeed, we need a flawless race. We need to keep up with developments, as getting points requires getting to the finish line. I don’t feel like we’re in a bad place right now, Steiner says.
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