Haas Formula One team parts ways with team principal Guenther Steiner after 10 years
Guenther Steiner will not return as Team Principal of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team.
Steiner held the position at the sole American-backed Formula One team since its inception in 2014. The team's former director of engineering, Ayao Komatsu, will replace the Italian-American in the role, effective immediately.
Reports from BBC Sport say that Haas did not fire the 58-year-old former team principal. Rather, Steiner's contract was up with the team after 10 years at the helm, and the team chose to not extend him another offer.
Haas has finished at the bottom of Formula One's Constructors' Championship standings in two of the last three seasons.
"Moving forward as an organization it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances," team owner Gene Haas said in a statement. "In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management."
Formula One: Top three races of Michael Schumacher's career on legend's 55th birthday
Haas F1 team scoring history under Guenther Steiner
March 20, 2016: Romain Grosjean finishes sixth at Australian Grand Prix, scoring the first points for Haas in team's Formula One debut.
2016 season: Haas finishes with 29 points – all from Grosjean – and eighth place in Constructors' Championship standings
2017 season: 47 points, eighth in Constructors' Championship
2018 season: 93 points, fifth in Constructors' Championship
2019 season: 28 points, ninth in Constructors' Championship
2020 season (abbreviated): 3 points, ninth in Constructors' Championship
2021 season: 0 points, 10th in Constructors' Championship
2022 season: 37 points, eighth in Constructors' Championship
2023 season: 12 points, 10th in Constructors' Championship
Americans in F1: Logan Sargeant, the only American F1 driver, getting another shot in 2024 after tough rookie year
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haas Formula One team, Guenther Steiner split, Ayao Komatsu takes over