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Guenther Steiner makes Haas confession amid F1 return speculation Former Haas Formula 1 boss Guenther Steiner has conceded that he remained with the team for too long. Guenther Steiner has conceded that he remained the Haas Formula 1 boss for "too long" after his relationship with owner Gene Haas deteriorated. Steiner was a key player in the creation of the Haas F1 team, creating a business plan for the project in the late 2000s and pitching the idea to both Haas and Bernie Ecclestone, who needed convincing to allow the team a position on the grid. Team principal from 2014-2023, Steiner saw Haas' form fluctuate wildly from a solid midfield outfit to a back-of-the-grid team. This saw his relationship with the owner slowly erode, especially as the Italian maintained the team should sacrifice a disastrous 2023 season to focus on building a stronger car for the following year. Although this plan was followed and 2024 began stronger, Steiner was not retained at the helm, with Ayao Komatsu promoted to fill his position. “I think I stayed two years too long," Steiner told the High Performance Podcast. “What I should have done better or differently is maybe convincing the ownership to do, or to sell them my vision better so they would do it. I don’t know if I would ever have achieved that. That is one of the things that I should have done, but I didn’t achieve that. “So, I think what I should have done is just say, ‘Hey, it isn’t working. I’m leaving now’. “But in the end, I don’t regret not leaving two years before. I’m pretty fine with it. Reflecting, it’s like if you give me now, with hindsight, this is what I say, but at the time it wasn’t this bad because otherwise, I would have done it.” Recalling how the decision was "taken away" from him, Steiner added: "I was pretty happy that it was taken away. "Sometimes you want to make a decision, but then you don’t. "When it comes to it, I was very happy that it happened because I didn’t agree with where the team was going. My vision was different from the owners'. "Obviously, he owns the team, so he can do whatever he wants. He is fully right to do that, he doesn’t have to ask me, and I am a big believer in one door closes, two more open, and obviously, at the moment, too many doors are open for me because I’m too busy.” Steiner has since turned to MotoGP, where he leads a consortium that owns the Tech3 team. But the 61-year-old recently intimated that he would be willing to return to the F1 paddock should the right project emerge. I will come back if there is a project I like," he told the Up to Speed Podcast. "I mean, I always say, just to go back and do a job: no." He adeed: "It needs to be something which really challenges me."