Former Formula 1 team principal Günther Steiner has won a legal battle against his former employer Haas in the United States.
The first legal battle between former Formula 1 team principal Günther Steiner and the US racing team Haas ended in victory for Steiner: Judge Andre Birotte Jr. of the Central District Court in the US state of California dismissed a copyright lawsuit brought by Haas. The team had sought damages because Steiner had printed pictures showing Haas logos in his book “Driving to Survive” (among other things).
In his judgment, Judge Birotte said: Steiner describes his experiences as team manager of Haas in Formula 1 in the book and must therefore necessarily mention the name of the team. Steiner also used pictures “as is the case with many sports biographies”. These pictures are “artistically relevant” for the book and do not constitute a copyright infringement in this context.
Steiner also did not lead his readers down the wrong path and did not suggest anywhere in the book that Haas was involved in its creation. “One could argue that the cover implies an endorsement or sponsorship by Haas, but no misleading statements or references are made towards the Haas brands,” continued Judge Birotte.
Steiner has nevertheless suffered a small defeat: His legal fees will not be covered because, according to the court, this can only happen “in exceptional circumstances”. Steiner’s application was short and did not explain what the “exceptional circumstances” were, so Steiner does not expect to see any money here.
Details about Steiner’s book
Steiner’s book “Surviving to Drive – Ein Jahr in der Formel 1” was published in German on November 17, 2023. The title is an allusion to the successful Netflix series “Drive to Survive”, which made Steiner famous worldwide. His distinctive swearing is currently the subject of discussion again.
Since his sacking as Haas team principal after the 2023 season, Steiner has remained in the Formula 1 paddock as a TV pundit. He is on camera for the German channels Sky and RTL, among others. Steiner, who lives in the US, also works as an ambassador for the Miami Grand Prix.
Haas and Steiner meet again in court
He will presumably meet his former Formula 1 team Haas again in court: Steiner has sued his former employer for outstanding commission payments. He is still owed money from 2021 to 2023, Steiner claims. In addition, the team advertised with him and distributed fan merchandise, which was in contrast to his employment contract.
This second lawsuit is still ongoing and could not be concluded until 2025.
Without Steiner, Haas is making progress
In the first year after Steiner, Haas made a significant leap forward in the Formula 1 overall standings under his successor as team principal, Ayao Komatsu. After Haas finished last in 2023 with twelve points and an emphatically small number of technical updates, the team is already on 31 points after two-thirds of the way through the 2024 season and regularly modifies its cars.
The Haas drivers for 2025 have also been announced: the US team is filling both cockpits with Esteban Ocon (from Alpine) and Formula 1 newcomer Oliver Bearman from the Ferrari Academy. Long-standing Haas driver Kevin Magnussen is retiring, and Nico Hülkenberg is moving to Sauber/Audi.