F1’s reluctant star Guenther Steiner on “burden” of fame through Drive to Survive series

Guenther Steiner is something of a rarity in Formula 1.

The sport has never been so popular, but its stars have always had an aura around them. After all, it taps into primal human instincts. Driving hi-tech machines at head-spinning speeds has always been exciting. And sexy.

Many of the past stars of the sport have loved the celebrity aspect, but that is one of the many areas in which Steiner breaks the mould. Not only is he entirely uninterested in being at the centre of attention, but he gives the impression that he would very much prefer to be out of the spotlight altogether.

That, however, became out of the question as soon as the popular Netflix docu-drama Drive to Survive first began to air. The series was created in the hope of attracting a new generation of fans to the sport, and boy did it deliver in that regard.

It wasn’t the racing which drew this new audience in, but the personalities of those involved. Drivers and team principals showed off who they were off the track and they really resonated with viewers – few more so than Steiner.

The Haas team principal was not exactly a household name prior to the series. He first started working in F1 more than two decades ago when he left the rallying world to join Jaguar Racing, and stayed with the team when it was bought out by and rebranded as Red Bull. After several years away, he returned to the F1 in 2014 to lead the newly-formed Haas team which began racing two years later.

Leading a team which was not threatening a title challenge, Steiner worked away in relative obscurity. But that all changed when he was introduced to these new fans through Drive to Survive – suddenly, everyone couldn’t get enough of this straight-talking, unassuming and potty-mouthed team boss.

Steiner’s expressive face means he rarely hides how he is feeling (Image: Getty Images)

“I did my job, people liked what I do,” he tells Mirror Sport as a wide-ranging interview with Steiner turns onto the subject of his fame. The wry smile on his face alone is enough of an indicator that he really does not enjoy talking about himself, but still he indulges us.

“[F1 owners] Liberty Media and Netflix got the best out of it and all of a sudden a lot of people know you! But it’s not something that I planned years ago, thinking ‘I need to be this, that and the other’. It just happened, and sometimes it is quite a burden as well. Everybody watches you, a lot of people know you.”

Why, then, is he happy to talk about himself in this interview if he would prefer to avoid the fame? Put simply, he knows it is his responsibility as Haas boss to represent the team and get the brand out there as much as possible. Also, despite his gruff exterior, Steiner is a genuinely affable man.

He continues: “In general, for Formula 1 it’s good. If a younger generation of people are interested in Formula 1, that secures our future. And it’s not only me – a lot of other people were in it as well. It’s just the modern times of Formula 1, it’s what people want to see.

Guenther Steiner is the fourth longest-serving team principal on the grid, behind Red Bull’s Christian Horner, Toto Wolff of Mercedes and AlphaTauri’s Franz Tost (Image: Getty Images)

“We gave them what they wanted to see, and all of a sudden you’re in the middle of it. It’s a bit more tiring now than it was three or four years ago, but you just plan for it and live with it. “I have to do more interviews now. But you can ask everybody in the team, nothing changes.”

The fact Steiner very much wears his heart on his sleeve has led to some enduring soundbites as a result of being followed around by the Netflix cameras. Plus, as he once revealed, he learned how to speak English in a pub rather than in a classroom – so no prizes for guessing why he regularly comes up with expletives.

One of Steiner’s gems in the Netflix series came when on the phone with team owner Gene Haas, after a disastrous Australian Grand Prix in 2018. He says: “We finish fourth and fifth here and we f***ing look like rock stars. Now, we are a bunch of f***ing w***ers.”

Predictably, it became a popular meme on social media. More than that, it even inspired a fun prank from drivers Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen this season, as they turned up in Austin ahead of the United States GP wearing T-shirts bearing Steiner’s face and the paraphrased slogan: “We look like a bunch of legends.”

Grinning, Steiner tells us of the prank: “I think they did it as a joke – they just find it funny! It’s what people do these days. I didn’t tell them to wear it, by the way!” Of course, it is now a widely-shared meme on social media, along with an image of Steiner knelt next to a small wooden boat – a photo taken as part of a shoot with sponsors Aldi.

“It helps the team a lot,” the 57-year-old concedes. “Sponsors look at us because we have good exposure, which is nice because they get good exposure for it. There are no negatives, only that we have to do a little more work, but it would be a boring life otherwise.”

Why exactly did people take a shine to this man? As Mirror Sport cites his straight-talking attitude and tendency for memorable one-liners as possible answers, Steiner smiles as he spots the opportunity to crack a joke – and of course he takes it.

Even Alfa Romeo chief Fred Vasseur and Pirelli’s Mario Isola joined in with the Steiner T-shirt fun in Austin (Image: Getty Images)

“How about my good looks?” he asks mischievously before laughing. As for a genuine answer, he suggests: “I think it’s because I don’t change – they filmed me doing my job, I didn’t act or play anything and that is the reason why I don’t watch it. I don’t want to change.

“I don’t think I would be happy with how I see myself or how I act, so the best is not to look and then we stay who we are and we do the same job. If people like it, fine. If they don’t like it, fine with me as well, I’m not getting upset about it.

“I think people like it because it is genuine, there is no playing an act.” In keeping with the rest of the interview, Steiner finishes with a smile and a joke: “I don’t have any social media channels at all myself, thank god – that could be damaging.”