Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has insisted that he isn’t suing Haas owner Gene Haas for $900 million, with him question “who makes up” the completely false rumours.
It was rumoured that Steiner was suing Gene over a 2016 agreement which wasn’t met, in regard to the Italian being given a stake in the American team.
BusinessF1 Magazine reported that Steiner thought he was promised a 50% stake in the team, but that Gene went against their promise.
As a result, it was rumoured that he was suing Gene for half of the team’s value, which is believed to be where the $900 million figure comes from.
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Steiner has rejected any claims that he’s suing the owner of the team he works for and insists that himself and Gene have joked over the matter.
“I told Gene that I was supposed to be suing him for $900 million,” Steiner told F1 journalist Joe Saward. “And he said: ‘Good luck with that!’.
“Where do these stories come from? Who makes them up?”
Steiner has been Haas’ team principal since the outfit joined the championship in 2016, with him having played an integral role in the side becoming an F1 team.
Haas have been through a lot in a relatively short space of time, with it being the team principal’s “passion project”.
Going completely against the rumours, he insists that his relationship with Gene is “good”, but that he is “tough” with the Italian.
When Steiner does a “bad job”, he admits that Gene is quick to tell him to improve.
“I think it [Haas] has to be my passion project,” Steiner told PlanetF1.com.
“I started this team, I went out and found an investor. If I leave… I never wanted another job, I would have had other jobs before, but I didn’t want them.
“This was one thing I wanted to do. And it’s pretty cool to set up an F1 team in your lifetime. There are not many people doing that and, therefore, I feel committed to the people.
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“We have got quite a few people here, who are still here from day one. I don’t get attracted by the neighbour’s greener grass.
“With Gene Haas, I know I have a very good boss, I’ve got a good relationship with him.
“He’s tough with me, but I’m tough with other people. So, if I do a bad job, I’m not afraid that he tells me. Not that he needs to tell me but, if he has a different opinion on it, I’m OK with it. I’m not getting upset about it.”