Günther Steiner, former team boss at Haas, has found his new roles as an F1 analyst and bestselling author to be less stressful and quite enjoyable. “Who wants to hurt or offend people? Not me,” he says.
Mr. Steiner, how do you find life on the ‘other side’ of the camera?
“Very pleasant, haha. I’m enjoying it and learning what life is like without having to run a team. Suddenly, so many new things are happening, which brings new challenges that I need. I also have time to work on projects that I want to do. As for the television work, it’s relatively simple. Because I know what it’s about. When I interview another team boss, I already know ninety percent of what the answer will be. In general, I try to make the sport more understandable for the fans.”
Straightforward, without conflict of interest.
“Certainly. But sometimes it’s difficult because you don’t want to hurt or offend people. On the other hand, you have to be honest, it’s my opinion. No one has to agree with it, but I always try to be respectful and not very aggressive towards people. If something is going on and my opinion is asked, I’m not going to give an answer to please people. But I must admit: it’s a thin line you’re balancing on. It’s a bit like when I was a team boss: you have to tell the truth without hurting people. Because who wants to hurt people? Not me.”
Are you enjoying the new role?
“Otherwise I wouldn’t do it. I don’t want to come across as arrogant, but I don’t need to do this… You know, when you’ve worked in Formula 1 for so long, it becomes your world. I find it a nice community, but I could certainly do without it. I have a family, I’m not single.”
You’re not getting bored.
“This year I’m doing twelve GPs and therefore traveling a lot less, which I absolutely love. I’m also doing a lot of other things, like a book promotion in the UK which keeps me away from home for two weeks. I’m quite happy with this. Life is a lot less stressful, I no longer have the responsibility for hundreds of people in a racing team. Because when something goes wrong, you’re very much involved. It always causes a lot of stress.”
