Although you may not have seen him on the podium collecting any trophies, Guenther has won the hearts of Formula 1 fans around the world through the Netflix series, “Drive to Survive.”
As the Team Principal for the Haas F1 team, Guenther was responsible for the development of the team from the time that Gene Haas decided to purchase it. Guenther was responsible for the development of the US F1 Team in a number of ways, this includes the organizational and political management of the team.
While you may know him for his raw personality, there is much more to Guenther Steiner than you may think. To find out more about the most popular Team Principal on the grid, here are 10 fast facts about Guenther Steiner:
10 Career As A Mechanic
Guenther Steiner was born in 1965 in Merano, Italy. While many other Team Principals may have a history of competing in motorsport, Guenther comes from a slightly different background as a motorsport mechanic.
Guenther worked as a mechanic in the World Rally Championship for the Mazda team. Here, he worked as a general mechanic from 1986 to 1988. In the following year, Steiner took on a new challenge as the assistant manager for Top Run Srl.
9 All Star Rally Team
In 1991, Steiner moved on to become the technical director at Jolly Club. He worked with the team from 1991 to 1996 when he left to be part of the Allstar Rally Team.
Steiner became the manager of Prodrive’s Allstar Rally Team in 1997. While competing in the European Rally Championship, Steiner managed to win the competition with the amazingly talented motorsport driver, Krzysztof Holowczyc.
8th Jaguar F1 team
After his success in rallying, Steiner made the move to Formula 1 with Jaguar. Steiner was headhunted by Niki Lauda to be the newly appointed Managing Director and Team Principal of the Formula 1 team.
During his time at Jaguar, Steiner managed to reorganize the entire team and set them up for success. This included hiring new engineering staff and isolating certain areas for the team to technically focus on.
7 Technical Director Of Red Bull
In 2004, Red Bull decided to enter Formula 1 by purchasing the Jaguar F1 Team. Through this purchase, Red Bull essentially purchased Guenther as well. Guenther stayed with the team in an interim capacity before being appointed as the Technical Director for the team.
Red Bull then hired Christian Horner to be the new Team Principal in 2005. Steiner worked closely with Horner in the years that followed until he was eventually let go from the team in 2008.
6 FiberWorks Composites
When Steiner was released from his role at Red Bull, he moved to the US to live with his wife and children. While in the US Steiner started FibreWorks Composites, a carbon fiber manufacturing and composite company.
The company has since grown to be one of the largest private composite manufacturers in the state. Despite his return to Formula 1, Steiner still remains the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, overseeing the company remotely as he travels with the Formula 1 team.
5 Development Of Haas
While Steiner was happily living his new life in the United States, an opportunity came up that he could not possibly pass up on. This was to develop a brand-new, US Formula 1 team with Gene Haas.
Steiner met with Gene Haas in early 2010 and started working on the US F1 Team with Joe Custer from Stewart-Haas Racing. Through the development of the new team, Steiner became the Managing Director and Team Principal of Haas.
4 Drive To Survive
While Guenther Steiner has been in and around Formula 1 for over a decade, he has managed to amass a huge following online due to the Netflix show, “Drive to Survive.” This documentary series covered the entire season, especially the ups and downs of the Haas F1 Team.
Fans around the world embraced the raw and unfiltered opinions of Guenther Steiner, quickly making him a fan favorite. This was evident from the first season as Formula 1 received a huge boost in online views, ticket purchases, and F1TV subscriptions.
3 Rich Energy Deal
(L to R): William Storey (GBR) Rich Energy CEO; Romain Grosjean (FRA) Haas F1 Team; Kevin Magnussen (DEN) Haas F1 Team; Guenther Steiner (ITA) Haas F1 Team Principal. 02/27/2019. Haas F1 Team Livery Unveil, The Royal Automobile Club, London, England. – www.xpbimages.com, email: [email protected] – copy of publication required for printed pictures. Every used picture is fee-liable. © Copyright: Batchelor / XPB Images
Despite being a new team, Haas got off the mark incredibly quickly, with fairly competitive seasons on top of the midfield. This opened a number of doors for the team to expand its commercial ambitions and take on new sponsors.
In the 2019 season, Haas decided to take a multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal with Rich Energy. This ended up being a huge disaster, as the company was later found to be fraudulent, leaving Haas in a financial hole that Guenther managed to navigate successfully. Guenther sought out new sponsors and built the team back up financially.
2 Advertising For Haas
One of the most entertaining parts of the fourth season of Drive to Survive was the episode dedicated to Haas and their new partner. Haas decided to take on a new title sponsor from Russia, promising a seat on the team in return.
While this did help, Guenther’s newfound fame resulted in him advertising directly with Mick Schumacher for a variety of German sponsors. This showcases the brand he has managed to build for himself without even trying.
1 The Haas master plan
With the Formula 1 team battling with finances, the pandemic did not help at all. Formula 1 decided to push the new regulations to 2022. While this did give teams more time to develop their new cars, it did also put them in a tough spot to decide on whether or not to invest in 2021.
This is where Haas took the alternate route and sacrificed their entire 2021 season. Sacrificing the 2021 season allowed the development team to focus on the new regulations and hopefully jump back up to the midfield.
Here’s Everything You Should Know About The Haas F1 Team
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About The Author
Nicholas Pillay
(29 Articles Published)
Nicholas is an avid motorsport lover from South Africa. He has been obsessed with all things automotive from an early age and managed to learn about the industry directly during his time at Mercedes-Benz. Nicholas also studied and worked in Germany, where he accumulated over five years of experience in the marketing and automotive industry. Nicholas is also a passionate Formula 1 fan, patiently awaiting Lewis Hamilton’s 9th World Championship.
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