So, who is Guenther Steiner?
A butcher's boy from Bolzano, Italy, Guenther Steiner started his successful career in Motorsport as a mechanic in Belgium for Mazda Rally Team Europe in 1986. After years of hard work, he eventually became Director of Engineering for the M-Sport team who operated the Ford Rally programme with legendary rally driver Colin McRae who Guenther developed a deep bond with.
His entry into Formula One came 15 years into his career in 2001 when he was head-hunted by a struggling Jaguar Racing team. He became Managing Director under team principal Niki Lauda and worked alongside Irish racing driver Eddie Irvine, but a massive overhaul of the team came a year later in 2002 which saw Steiner take gardening leave.
A few years later, after Jaguar Racing was bought out by Red Bull in 2005, Guenther was re-hired as Technical Operations Director where he and team principal Christian Horner pushed the team on with improved performances. But it wasn't to be a long-term role - Red Bull's poaching of McClaren's championship-winning Technical Director Adrian Newey a year later led Steiner to consider moving to NASCAR, and in 2006 he was transferred to run the Red Bull NASCAR team in Mooresville, North Carolina where he still lives today.
Guenther always had the idea of running a customer F1 team and after convincing Gene Haas to back his plan and provide the budget, he was appointed team principal of the newly formed Haas F1 team in 2014. With their first entry in the 2015 season, Guenther's Haas team grew year on year and eventually peaked in 2018 when they finished 5th in the Manufacturers Championship. He became a massive focus of Netflix's 'Drive to Survive' docuseries in his time at Haas, and became a well-loved character in F1. If you'd like to be part of it and experience the smell of burning rubber as the world's best racers tear up the track, check out our F1 Holidays.
Why did Guenther Steiner leave Haas F1 Team?
As rival teams' budgets increased, the Haas customer car model started to struggle and nearly had to cease operations in 2020 when the Covid-19 Pandemic waved a red flag on Formula One competitions. Guenther left Haas as he felt Gene Haas wasn't investing enough into the team's budget to allow them to challenge for race wins. Haas is currently the smallest F1 team and doesn't have its own factory. Instead, it uses a number of satellite offices in Italy, England and USA with Italian car manufacturer Dallara supplying the team's chassis every year.
What is Guenther Steiner doing now?
After exploding into stardom on 'Drive to Survive', Guenther has become a popular figure in the paddock and now provides regular expert commentary for a range of broadcasters and is the new figurehead of the Miami Grand Prix. He has also released a No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling book aptly named 'Surviving to Drive', and has been on a UK tour with a live show which has been a massive hit up and down the country for F1 fans.
How can I meet Guenther Steiner?
Spectate guests will have the exclusive opportunity to meet Guenther Steiner at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024. Fans will be able to ask Guenther questions about his career, get pictures, and have their books signed by the man himself.