‘Drive to Survive is finished’ – F1 fans react to wild Guenther Steiner departure at Haas

Guenther Steiner is out the door at Haas, with fans highlighting the severe impact they believe this will have on Netflix’s Drive to Survive series as a key personality departs.

It has been a day of major change at Haas in the senior staff ranks, with technical director Simone Resta’s departure soon followed by confirmation that Steiner was no longer team principal; Ayao Komatsu moves from trackside engineering director to team boss.

But fans believe Steiner’s exit will carry a more wide-reaching impact in the world of Formula 1, and certainly not in a positive sense.

Drive to Survive in jeopardy after Guenther Steiner exit?

Formula 1 has arguably never been more popular than it is right now, with sold-out grands prix a regular occurrence as promoters battle it out for a piece of the action, the calendar now up to a record-breaking 24 rounds for F1 2024.

The catalyst for this was the success of Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to Survive, a show which the ‘rockstar’ Guenther Steiner played a key part in, his no-nonsense, yet hilarious personality making him a key attraction.

However, the sixth season, to air in 2024, is now set to be the last featuring Steiner around the F1 paddock, with fans fearing this could be curtains for the series minus his presence.

“Netflix series is finished,” one fan posted in response to Steiner leaving Haas, backed by another fan posting: “Well that’s Drive to Survive finished after the next season comes out.”

“Nooooo, he was one of the best, funny and interesting person in the paddock. So sad,” read a further fan post.

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With responses of “the only reason any of us cared about Haas” and “well this is another reason to watch less F1” also emerging, there will likely be concerns about the potential knock-on effects of this Haas announcement if these fan statements are a true foreshadowing.

“Literally the ONLY Team Principal that EVERYONE liked is now gone,” read another response.

A fan summed up the dominant sentiment with their post: “Guenther is one of F1’s brightest lights, I hope he remains in the paddock.”

As for the on-track matters though, a fan explained that they can see why this decision has been made, owner Gene Haas having stated that performances were not up to his expectations, after the team slumped to P10 and last in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship.

“Hard but fair, performance just wasn’t up to the level it needed to be,” that fan concluded.

Haas are yet to announce details for the launch of their F1 2024 challenger.

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