https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why- ... /10565098/
Worth reading.
Steiner had worked at Jaguar and Red Bull before heading to the USA to start a composite business in North Carolina, the home of NASCAR. He watched with some interest as the doomed US F1 team crashed and burned at a facility just a few miles away, but that didn't deter him from putting together his own project.
Steiner came up with the idea of hooking up with Ferrari and taking everything allowed by the rules in terms of mechanical parts, thus reducing the need for in-house design and manufacturing resources, and making the project realistic.
The next step was to find someone to pay for it, and Haas – already successful in NASCAR and keen to grow his machine tool business worldwide – was the perfect candidate.
The former Manor factory in Banbury was just about fit for purpose when the team started in 2016. Allowing for the fact that manufacturing is done elsewhere, it has nevertheless fallen behind the times. Even the paddock hospitality facility is the most basic of any team.
Although he was always efficient with the budget granted to him, Steiner was keen to upgrade everything in an attempt to keep up. He was held back by Haas, with dissenting views on management and spending becoming obvious.
Steiner was clearly getting frustrated by having his hands tied. Continuing despite regular disputes with the owner, being unable to pursue the changes he deemed necessary, was going to be difficult – to the point where he may perhaps even have been wondering whether he wanted to continue over the long term. In the end, Haas made the decision for him.
