Whether you like it or not, Drive To Survive has elevated Formula 1’s popularity around the globe, including making a celebrity out of former Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner.
The 61-year-old helped form Haas Formula One Team with Gene Haas as the American team first appeared on the grid in 2016. Previously, he was the managing director of Jaguar Racing and technical operations director of its subsequent incarnation Red Bull Racing.
Despite his years on the grid and incredible level of hard work securing Haas’ formation and place on the grid, Steiner’s popularity exploded thanks to his hilarious cameos on the Netflix show.
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Now off the F1 grid since leaving Haas in 2023, Steiner is the CEO of Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP motorcycle racing team, but for casual F1 fans and enjoyers of the fly-on-the-wall documentary, the Italian is most remembered for his brilliant one-liners.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star Sport, via 247bet, Steiner admitted that he doesn’t watch the Netflix series despite his soaring fame. “You know, I never watched it back. I never watched it,” he said.
“When they started to film, obviously, I was not aware of what would come out of it. I was completely fine with it, of course, whatever it was going to be. If it is good, fine. If it is bad, fine. I don’t really care. And that’s what happened.
“The fame which came out of it, I mean, there are worse things to happen to a person than that. But the strange thing is, I didn’t do something special to get famous. You know, a lot of people work hard to get famous. That’s what they want to be. I never wanted to be famous. I wanted to do my job.
“And all of a sudden, I get well recognised. I wouldn’t call myself famous, but I get well recognised, you know, and I just have to deal with it.
“So there are worse things than that to be well recognised. I think if the people liked the show, if the fans like you from it, then is it a bad thing? No. Is it a good thing? I’m indifferent to it.
“But I always try to give the people what they want, because without them, I wouldn’t be able to make the life I’ve got, you know, and I respect it.
“And I always try to show that. So if somebody asks me for a picture, I would say 98% of the time, I say yes. I will only say no when I have to catch a plane or something, when something busy is happening, and I genuinely just cannot do it, you know.
“But otherwise, I say, hey, I ended up in this position without doing anything special. These are the people who made my life good, so I respect them. I don’t feel special or anything. I think I have stayed the same person as I was before.”
One of the most iconic moments from Steiner’s appearances in the series came after the 2019 British Grand Prix, when Kevin Magnussen slammed and punched his office door in frustration after receiving a rollocking for a first-lap collision with team-mate Romain Grosjean.
Reflecting on the moment and his rollercoaster relationship with the Dane, who he signed twice for Haas, Steiner said: “I enjoyed the relationship with him, as I did with Romain [Grosjean], with Nico [Hulkenberg], and with all the drivers we had. I actually enjoyed it.
“But, no, Kevin never apologised to give you that answer. Kevin was far too proud to apologise for something like that, you know. But I don’t worry about it, because that’s Kevin Magnussen for you.”