Why Haas Is Suing Guenther Steiner

Things haven’t been great between the Haas F1 team and its charismatically sweary former boss Guenther Steiner since he was dropped by the team at the beginning of 2024. Steiner, who has since carved out a happy niche working as an F1 pundit and running his ‘Evening with Guenther Steiner’ stage tour, is being sued by Haas F1’s parent company over apparent trademark infringements in his autobiography.

The book, entitled ‘Surviving To Drive’ in a nod to the Netflix docuseries that made Steiner an unlikely cult figure, was published in April last year. As reported by Motor1, Haas Automation, the machine tool manufacturer that owns the F1 team, isn’t happy about its name and imagery appearing in the book.

The company has lodged court papers in California alleging that “Haas Automation trademarks and Haas Automation trade dress [were used] for Steiner’s personal financial gain and illicit profit,” and that they appeared in the book “without permission or consent.”

The papers go on to allege that Haas had notified Steiner of its intent to sue before going ahead with the action, but that “Steiner has taken no action,” prompting the lawsuit itself. The company also reckons that the book has sold in excess of 150,000 units, resulting in profits of around $4.5 million (approx. £3.6 million).

This news has come barely a week after reports emerged that Steiner was suing the Haas F1 team in its home state of North Carolina over apparent unpaid commissions during the latter part of his 10 seasons in charge of the team.

Clearly, things have turned pretty sour between the two outfits since Steiner’s contract expired and wasn’t renewed at the end of the 2023 season. Hopefully, nobody will come out of this mess looking too much like a bunch of something somethings.