The Haas Formula One team will have a new leader in charge in 2024 -- longtime team principal Guenther Steiner has shockingly left his position after 10 years, the organization announced Wednesday.
Steiner -- a star on Netflix's 'Drive To Survive' -- held the role since Haas joined the grid in 2016, reaching as high as fifth in the Constuctor Standings in 2018.
It was a rough 2023 campaign, though ... as Haas finished last with just 12 points.
According to F1, Steiner met with team owner Gene Haas following the 2023 season ... and it was decided they would go their separate ways.
Haas' director of engineering, Ayao Komatsu, will take over as team principal.
"I’d like to start by extending my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future," Haas said in a statement.
"Moving forward as an organization, it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances. In appointing Ayao Komatsu as Team Principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management."
"We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organization," he added. "We need to be efficient with the resources we have but improving our design and engineering capability is key to our success as a team."
Thanks, Günther. Thanks for taking me on the journey in 2017 and thanks for bringing me on board again in 2022. It has been both fun and tremendously challenging – but never boring. So long and all the best 👊 @HaasF1Team pic.twitter.com/7xcmYeZRbY
— Kevin Magnussen (@KevinMagnussen) January 10, 2024
Haas driver Kevin Magnussen wished his former boss farewell on social media ... saying, "Thanks for taking me on the journey in 2017 and thanks for bringing me on board again in 2022. It has been both fun and tremendously challenging – but never boring. So long and all the best."