Steiner wins a round in Haas F1 legal battle

Gunther Steiner has won a round in his battle with his former F1 employer Haas.

After he was axed as long-time team boss ahead of the 2024 season, Steiner instigated legal action against Gene Haas’ small American team, claiming various breaches of his contractual agreement.

But Haas hit back, filing a lawsuit in California claiming Steiner illegally used Haas-owned branding and imagery in his popular book, Surviving To Drive.

The Central District Court of California has now dismissed that suit.

In his ruling, Judge Andre Birotte explained that Steiner had no option but to include the Haas-owned trademarks in his book about his experiences in Formula 1, as is the case with "many sports biographies".

"The use of the Haas marks is artistically relevant to the book," he added.

Steiner, 59, still works in Formula 1, but only as television pundit.

He declared after Sunday’s Singapore GP that he is "betting on Lando (Norris)" to eventually beat Max Verstappen to the 2024 world championship.

"In Singapore he was so good, apart from a few times when he lost concentration or something. It was strange - look at (Kevin) Magnussen, he touched the wall once and got a puncture," said Steiner, an Italian from German-speaking South Tyrol.