Guenther Steiner secures another new job in F1 paddock as schedule fills up

Former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner is a person in demand, his new punditry gig with RTL followed by a deal to head to Australia.

The announcement that Steiner would not continue with Haas into F1 2024, the team which he built the very foundations of and acted as team principal since day one, proved arguably the first of several major shock developments across an eventful F1 off-season.

But, considering Steiner had built his reputation as one of the most recognisable and popular personalities in the paddock, largely thanks to the spotlight of Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, it was always likely that he would remain involved with Formula 1 in some capacity, which for now will be via the media.

Guenther Steiner heading for Adelaide and Network 10

It was recently announced that Steiner had signed with German broadcaster RTL as a pundit, starting from the Bahrain Grand Prix with further appearances to be interspersed throughout the season. Following the Bahrain GP, he is now set to head Down Under, with a very important stop on the way to the Australian Grand Prix.

As per Speedcafe, Steiner will be a part of Australian broadcaster Network 10’s coverage of the Australian Grand Prix, held from March 22-24, but before that, he will stop off at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, taking place from March 15-17, for a Q&A with an anticipated 2000-strong crowd in attendance.

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Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg admitted recently that Steiner’s exit has left “holes that we now have to fill”, not only in the sense that Steiner had shaped that team in his vision since its inception, but also in terms of the character that is Guenther Steiner, one of great value on the “commercial side”.

“He set the whole thing up here,” Hulkenberg told Sky Deutschland. “That was his concept, his business plan back then and it will certainly leave holes that we now have to fill in order to intercept it.

“And of course the character that is Guenther Steiner.

“That was of course a brand that brought a lot to the table off the track too. On the commercial side, I think, for the team too. It’s no secret through Netflix that he was very popular.”

Steiner’s team principal role at Haas was taken on by another figure who has been there since the start in Ayao Komatsu, promoted from trackside engineering director to team boss ahead of the F1 2024 campaign.

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