Günther Steiner returned to the columns of the newspaper Ouest France on his long adventure with Haas F1, an American team that he helped build with Gene Haas, the owner.
As he often recalled, he was at the origin of this new team project. He needed funding. And it was Haas Automation that opened the purse strings. Was it difficult to convince them?
“Complicated… I don't know. I had a good relationship with his manager, Martin Reiss, to whom I explained what we were trying to do. They understood it and wanted to seize this opportunity. Once When I explained everything to them, they said, 'Okay, we're with you.' It didn't take a lot of time.”
“Looking back, I tell myself that setting up a new team in Formula 1 is a pretty cool thing to do in your life. Build a business plan, present it, find investors… But I'm not only proud of myself, I'm proud of the whole team I had the idea yes, but I couldn't do anything alone When we were on the grid in Australia in 2016 I said to myself: “This is it. pretty cool! It all started on one! piece of paper on my kitchen table and now here we are.”
This first Grand Prix was also very strong… with a 6th place from the start for Romain Grosjean.
“It was mostly surprise. 'Did we really just do that?' I'm not a vengeful person, it doesn't lead anywhere. But I was more like: 'Wow, we did it!' But it took me a while to really realize it.”
Steiner also cites this first GP as one of his best memories. And the worst?
“Yes, let's start with the best: when we started the adventure in Australia in 2016 by scoring points. A lot of people would think of the pole position in Brazil (Magnussen in 2018), yes it was great. But in 2016, everyone said “It will never work”, and we scored points from the first race. For the worst moment, I would rather say that it was a period: that of the Covid We were constantly wondering if we were going. Nobody could tell me what the future was going to look like. It was a difficult moment, but fortunately at that time the FIA, the FOM and all the teams wanted to move forward. at least these positive signals There is always sunshine somewhere.”
-For French fans, Steiner is also inseparable from Romain Grosjean, his first driver in F1. With whom he experienced the best and the worst.
“I have a good relationship with Romain. We all know him, he is a person with a lot of temperament and emotions. When he left Haas obviously, for a while the relationship was no longer as good, but I respect him enormously.”
“He's really passionate about what he does, and I've always said that on a good day Romain is one of the best drivers in the world. Sometimes his character takes over, but if his car doesn't allow him to perform well, he always believes that he is capable of overcoming that When we tell him “Don't try to do this or that, it's impossible”, he will still try Because he's Romain! .”
“It’s not easy to manage him, and I would even say that no one has ever managed it honestly, except his wife perhaps. And I mean “maybe” (laughs)! He made the decision to go to the United States for a new career. The last time I met him, we talked a lot and he seemed happy to do what he does today. I think it's great on a human level. a lot Romain… Some days more than others!”
Today, Steiner works outside the garage, in a consulting role for various media. How does he perceive the evolution of F1 and all the recent changes?
“I think it's great. Sports has become great entertainment. The heart of it is still the sport itself, racing. And if you don't want Netflix, books, and “All the entertainment that goes around, you don't have to watch it if it's to criticize it. In Formula 1, the fans can choose to watch whatever they want.”
