Steiner treated badly by Haas? 'Wasn't even allowed to say goodbye'

David Croft and Craig Slater see little hope for Haas' new team boss. Ayao Komatsu needs to do better than Günther Steiner, but is that achievable with the same resources? There are also questions about Gene Haas' handling of Steiner's departure.

It was announced on Wednesday that Steiner is no longer the team boss at Haas. Gene Haas is not happy with his team's performance and wants to find improvement with Ayao Komatsu. Croft has reservations about that. According to the Sky Sports commentator, finding improvement is not possible at all at the moment.

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"I don't see how they go forwards unless investment is made and that money is given to the team. They are not operating at anywhere near the limits of the cost cap," Croft points at Haas' competitors in particular, who all do invest and progress. "If you stand still in F1, you go backwards. Haas are not even standing still. They are just not investing."

Croft hopes Komatsu will do better than Steiner but has little hope for the Japanese boss. Slater, reporter for Sky Sports, is additionally unhappy with the way Steiner has been treated.

"I've been told that Steiner found out about this towards the end of December. He hasn't had the chance to say his goodbyes at the factory. He is still in the UK at the moment. That's interesting. As far as I can read it, it's a surprise to him that he's not getting his contract renewed. We can't say he has been sacked because his contract has come to an end," Slater concluded.