Guenther Steiner lands new job in F1 paddock on eve of 2024 season

Guenther Steiner will be back in the Formula 1 paddock in 2024, with German broadcaster RTL having signed him to a punditry role this season.

The former Haas team principal has signed up to appear as a pundit at seven race weekends for RTL this year, with Haas having opted to not renew his contract after almost a decade in charge at the team.

He has been widely credited as one of the main ‘characters’ in the huge success of docuseries Drive to Survive, with his on-camera outbursts having made him a fan favourite around the world in recent years.

Guenther Steiner lands punditry role on German TV for new F1 season

RTL confirmed that Steiner’s first appearance on the channel would be at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix next weekend, with his remaining races to be interspersed throughout the season.

Having lost his place on the Haas pit wall for the upcoming campaign, Steiner will instead be armed with a microphone to offer his views on the events on track.

Inga Leschek, programme director at RTL and RTL+ called Steiner “a real character” who is “extremely popular with many Formula 1 fans”, and is looking forward to welcoming the former Haas team principal to their punditry line-up.

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“With Guenther Steiner, we have succeeded in getting a long-standing manager and Formula 1 insider directly from the paddock in front of the RTL microphones, who will enrich our live broadcasts with up-to-date insights and plain language,” Leschek said.

Steiner himself added: “Formula 1 is competition at the highest level, on the racetrack and in the paddock.

“How are the drivers’ performances to be assessed and what does that mean for the organisations behind them? I’m looking forward to examining these processes with this strong on-air team and sharing my analysis of the racing action.”

RTL’s announcement comes shortly after British broadcaster Sky Sports confirmed their presenter line-up for the new season, with long-time lead commentator David Croft set to sit out three races this season as the calendar expands to a record 24 rounds.

How did Guenther Steiner find out about his Haas dismissal?

Steiner was a big part of the Haas furniture, but the brutal nature of F1 was clear for all to see once again when the Italian revealed earlier this year that it was a very short phone call with owner Gene Haas that brought this long-standing partnership to an end.

“He called me up,” Steiner said to Autocar. “It was out of the blue. I was like: ‘Okay, what do you want to tell me?’

“He said: ‘I don’t want to extend the contract.’

“I said: ‘In the end, it’s your decision. It’s your team and the contract is up. What can I do? Do I think it’s right or not? Whatever I say, you’ll disagree with it. So leave it at that.’

“It was a very short call; it wasn’t a big discussion or anything. It was also very strange. You work with somebody for 10 years and you get a call [like that]…

“It’s weird. I was okay. I just move on. It’s fine.

“Anyway, I couldn’t believe anymore in what was happening there.”

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