Guenther Steiner
Formula 1 employee
Vital statistics for Guenther Steiner
Nationality ITA
Position Team principal
Team Haas F1 Team
Steiner's vast experience in motorsport starts as a mechanic for a rally team, and covers multiple roles across the globe before ending up in Formula One with the Jaguar outfit in 2002. He departed but returned when the squad became Red Bull and helped them get on their feet, only to be moved across to the US. When Gene Haas started his new US team, he called on Steiner to join as team principal, debuting in the 2016 season.
Guenther has a long history in motorsports, starting out in the mid 1980s where he worked as a mechanic in the World Rally Championship. He helped to build and prep race-winning cars, earning a promotion from the garage to, at various points in his career, team manager, technical manager and head of reconnaissance.
Ahead of the 2002 Formula One season, Steiner was spotted and snapped up by Niki Lauda, who asked him to join Jaguar's F1 outfit as managing director. Steiner was influential in reorganising the team but only saw out one season in the sport. He moved across to provide technical and manufacturing directorship in the DTM series, but was soon back in F1 when Red Bull came calling for the 2005 season.
This time as technical operations director, Steiner helped the team make the transition from their former outfit as Jaguar, and Red Bull rewarded him with a move to the United States - forming a brand new NASCAR team. He left Red Bull to start his own composites company in 2009, remaining in the US.
Gene Haas' eponymous team was put together for a debut in the 2016 Formula One season, and Steiner was signed up from the outset to lead the way as team principal.
Filed under Formula 1 employees
Mentions during live coverage
We had a glimpse of the new Haas already but it has officially been launched now. Guenther Steiner says: "You always try to make a faster car, which is normally a lighter car. Now we can put on more ballast and get better weight distribution. The aero is completely new, as are the tires, so we needed to have some built-in adjustability."Aesthetically, the car has a more aggressive look. It's lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. Everything we learned from our first car has been applied to our new car."
Close up replays of Esteban Gutiérrez having words with team principal Guenther Steiner in the Haas garage. The Mexican driver isn't happy at all.
Discover Formula 1
Driver biographies
Circuits past and present
Grand Prix seasons in depth
Individuals working in F1
Officiating race stewards
Key product suppliers