Guenther Steiner target of ‘centre of attention’ quip after ‘fake news’ claims

Herve Poncharal, the boss of the Tech3 MotoGP team, has quipped that former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner “loves to be the centre of attention.”

It comes after he described rumours that Steiner is closing in on a deal to buy the team as “fake news.”

MotoGP boss: Guenther Steiner ‘loves to be the centre of attention’

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

Steiner, who left his role as Haas team principal at the end of the 2023 season, has been linked with a return to motorsport via the purchase of the Tech3 team in MotoGP, the premier motorcycle racing series recently acquired by Formula 1 owner Liberty Media.

A media report over the recent F1 Hungarian Grand Prix weekend claimed that Steiner was in the process of finalising a deal to take control of the team.

As reported by PlanetF1.com, however, Mr Poncharal dismissed the report as “absolute fake news”, adding that he had been left “very annoyed by these new rumours and speculations.”

Steiner did not comment on the reports when approached by PlanetF1.com.

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In a fresh update, Mr Poncharal has lifted the lid on his confusion when he received a flurry of messages congratulating him on the sale of the team.

And he could not resist a cheeky dig in Steiner’s direction, quipping that the former Haas boss will be “happy” with the recent speculation as he “loves being the centre of attention.”

Mr Poncharal told The Race: “Nothing has changed!

“[In June] I took the decision to talk to everyone, to say that just we are open to discuss and to see what we can do in the future to be stronger.

“We will have to do quite a few important investments for the 2027-2031 contract, and alone it’s a little bit difficult to do, but nothing has changed.

“We are still talking and we hope we will still find a solution.

“Which solution is not clear at the moment, but honestly I have no idea why this article came out. It was very strange for me.

“That day, I went swimming in the morning – I like to go swimming in the sea – and I put my phone on flight mode.

“I went to have a coffee following the swim and I forgot about my phone.

“I put it on and it went ‘brrrr’, [vibrating] like when you win a race.

“I said: ‘Woah, what have I done?’ I saw a lot of [messages saying]: ‘Congratulations, happy for you.’

“I didn’t know what they were talking about, but one or two put the article [in the message] and then I understood, but I didn’t say anything.

“The plan is still to find a partner, but nothing has been signed.

“Some people were saying that there would be an announcement in Spielberg [MotoGP’s Austrian Grand Prix was held on Sunday], but as you can see there is no announcement.

“You know better than me that you can not always trust what is written in the media. And I’m not blaming the media – you get good and you get not so good.

“I think in the middle of the summer break, no one knows what to do.

“And it worked because I think it came first from [a motorsport media website], then everyone used it in many different languages.

“But as [Carlo] Pernat was saying a long, long time ago, it is better that people talk about you and it doesn’t matter what they say.

“Better than being a ghost or disappearing!

“It’s more publicity for Guenther than for me, but he loves it!

“He loves to be the centre of attention, to make some comments, so I guess he is happy.”

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