Guenther Steiner interview: Russian sponsors of Haas always paid their bills - but we had to change

At pre-season testing in Barcelona, every Formula One team was discovering ‘porpoising’ whilst trying to understand how their new cars would stack up in the sport’s new era. Haas, though, had bigger problems than on-track turbulence.

On February 24, the second day of the test, Russia shocked the world by launching an invasion of Ukraine. Haas’ title sponsor at the time was Uralkali, a fertiliser producer part-owned by Dmitry Mazepin, whose son Nikita had a contract to drive for the team. On the same day, Sebastian Vettel became the first driver to refuse to race at the Russian Grand Prix. The next day, the race in Sochi, scheduled for September, was cancelled.

In the coming days, sanctions on prominent Russians close to the Kremlin came quickly. Mazepin Sr was eventually described by an EU sanctions list as “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin”, having attended a meeting with the Russian President on the day of the invasion.

The situation for Haas was, clearly, complicated. Yet for team principal Guenther Steiner and owner Gene Haas, their decision was simple.

“I was having breakfast with Gene when we both learned [of the invasion], so we knew what we needed to do and I knew that I had his backing” Steiner says.

“The decision we had to make was defined by itself. We needed to make a change. We couldn't go on with this, what had happened with the invasion.”

For the final day of testing, all Uralkali branding was stripped from the team’s cars, trucks and clothing. The car ran in a plain white livery, as opposed to the red, white and blue one. By March 5, Uralkali was dropped as title sponsor. At the second test in Bahrain, Mazepin Junior was out as a driver, replaced by Kevin Magnussen.

Despite the upheaval and uncertainty around the team, Steiner says he never feared for its future during those rocky moments.

“It was more like keeping the team always informed,” he says. “It was an important sponsor and a good sponsor, because they always paid their bills. But [it was] ‘we will continue as planned’.”

It was a turbulent start to a critical season for the team, but they are now delivering regular points finishes once more. After entering the sport in 2016, early seasons of inconsistent promise had given way to the team propping up the grid last year.

For 2021, both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, who had delivered the team’s best result of fifth in the constructor standings in 2018, had left to make way for rookies Mazepin and Mick Schumacher. Their car last year was not developed and they finished the year pointless, with a best result of one solitary 12th place.

Steiner says that breaking the news to their 2020 drivers was made easier by the knowledge that the 2021 car would be a dud.

“It was like, guys, maybe next year you don't want to be here,” he says. “They were already quite demotivated in 2020.

“When the pandemic hit, we stopped development of the 2020 car, so they were already downbeat. And I said next year it will not get any better, actually it will get worse.

“You know, if you're just coming in to drive a car to be at the back without hope to do anything, that will be very demotivating.”

The plan was that they would spend their resources working on the 2022 car, when the regulations changed significantly, in an attempt to claw their way back to the midfield. During these times, Steiner says motivation was difficult.

“On a Sunday night, it isn't easy when you go home and you're last and second last,” Steiner adds.

“The motivation for myself on Sunday night is like, 'is this really what I want to do?' But then on Monday you work on the future. And that motivates you again.

“I respect a lot what the guys did last year, they were never downbeat. I mean, they had a bad day, but they were never downbeat because they believed that we would come back.

“I kept on telling people that they were the same people which in 2018 finished fifth in the championship. Let’s focus on next year, that was the thing which made us survive.”

Steiner has been in place at Haas since its inception. Having previously worked at Jaguar and Red Bull, he was tasked with building the team for its entry in the 2016 season. His loyalty to Gene Haas and the team is clear.

“It means a lot to me,” he says. “If I run away, you wouldn't be surprised if somebody else runs away. I've got that loyalty to Mr Haas, who puts all this effort in to make this team. I need to keep on carrying the torch.”

At the 2022 season opener in Bahrain, Magnussen took fifth place for 10 points. That was seven more than they scored in the previous two seasons combined. So far in 2022 they have racked up 34 points, with Schumacher breaking his long-awaited duck at Silverstone. Their first significant update package arrives in Hungary too.

The well-liked Dane’s return from the wilderness to F1’s top six in the space of two weeks is a story fit for the next season of Netflix’s F1 documentary Drive to Survive.

It is that series that is responsible for the rocketing of Steiner’s public profile, with his honest and expletive-laden appearances in front of the camera a highlight of the early episodes (watch video below - warning, expletive language).

Although the show has been a major part of F1’s revival worldwide, Steiner believes the program's longevity is limited.

“Like everything, after a while you have seen it all and it’s getting dull. You have to stop at the peak,” he says.

Might that next thing be the entry of an 11th F1 team, in the form of the proposed American Andretti entry?

“I leave that decision a little bit to F1,” he adds. “At the moment, F1 is in a very good place with 10 solid teams.

“Let's stabilise this one. There is enough goodness there that you don't need anybody new."