by Alex Johnston
News broke this week of Gunther Steiner's departure from Haas - having led the team since their inception in 2016. It's time to take a look at which moments, from "a bunch of wankers" to an unlikely pole position, stand out from Gunther's reign, as his number two man - Ayao Komatsu prepares to take charge of the US team.
1. K-Mag takes pole at Interlagos
As Haas endured a long season of poor results, despite intial hype, in 2022 the team took a VERY unlikely pole position for the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Having made it through the Q1 and Q2 sessions, the elements then took over at the start of Q3 and Kevin Magnussen timed his one lap to perfection , outqualfying Max Verstappen by around a tenth of a second and taking pole for the Saturday sprint race.
2. Grosjean's strong start
Romain Grosjean enjoyed a strong start to life with Haas in their debut season taking a surprise fifth place for the team as teammate Esteban Gutierrez faltered in Melbourne.
The French-Swiss driver took points in three out of the first four races, and scored every one of the team's points that season as they finished eighth ahead of Renault, Sauber and Manor Racing.
3. 2018's best finish
Steiner's season three was his best of eight with Haas as the team(Magnussen and Grosjean) found themselves fighting for the 'best of the rest' title with the then Renault team and McLaren, eventually ending up sandwiched between the two.
Magnussen would end the season ninth, with Grosjean 14th as the team took a string of top 10 results across the year.
Speaking of...
4. Team best result at the Red Bull Ring
During a tumultuous Austrian Grand Prix that saw battles between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, DNF's for both Mercedes cars and the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo and one of Steiner's championship rivals, the Renault of future Haas star Nico Hulkenberg, Haas capitalised on drama to take P4 and P5 at the chequered flag.
Grosjean led Magnussen over the line as the team claimed a stunning 22 point, much to the joy of the entire team.
5. Increases the team's fanbase and popularity as the star of Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' series
Steiner became the unlikeliest TV star in 2019, when F1 collaborated with Netflix for the 'Drive to Survive' series.
The Italian-American's brash, uncompromising attitude and colourful language made him a hit with fans and created meme worthy and laugh worthy content along the way.
Statements like "we look like a bunch of wankers" after pit stop drama in Australia, and his liberal use of the 'f-word' became incredibly popular, especially in the American market Netflix and F1 had hoped to have an effect on, and boosted the team's marketability and fanbase.
Can they sustain that without Steiner?
📸 Sky Sports, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, Formula Motorsport Limited.
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