The head of Haas, one of the most modest groups on the grid, is the protagonist of the documentary ‘Drive to Survive’, a success. He now presents his own book.
Dozens of fans run towards the entrance of the paddock of the Montmel circuit. Who has arrived? maybe they are Fernando Alonso either Carlos Sainz. maybe it is max verstappenmaybe lewis hamilton. maybe they are charles leclerc either Czech Prez. It’s Guenther! how? She still amazes me. When a fan shouts my name on the street I still think: How do I know that kid? He is my daughter’s friend? Oh no! Have you seen the documentary, comment Guenther Steiner in a chat with EL MUNDO after presenting his book survive at full speed. One year in Formula 1 (Main, 2023). As team leader of one of the worst on the grid, Haas, he has achieved fame thanks to Drive to Survive from Netflix, where his character, his humor, his naturalness and, why not tell him, his tacos are highlighted.
- How’s fame?
- I don’t wear it, I don’t do anything different. Most of the time it’s fun, but it takes some getting used to. More when I’m with my family. The first time I heard the audience chant Guenther, Guenther! he was walking with my daughter by the pit lane and I die of shame. She looked at people as if to say: Please stop.
- You haven’t seen the Netflix documentary. Has your family done it?
- My wife has seen it and I think my daughter too. I don’t ask them just in case. Can I tell you something fun? Before the first season came out, the team’s press officers saw it, explained some scenes to me, and told me I could ask them to be deleted. I told them: Leave them, nothing will happen. And the next thing was to land in Australia and have a group of fans there with my face on their jerseys.
- He likes the image of you that the TV is projecting.
- Yes, it’s me, I don’t act. I don’t dislike the whole phenomenon, although sometimes I feel strange. People have fun and that’s okay. Last year I watched a video of Sebastian Vettel imitating me, doing my accent, and it was very funny. Formula 1 is the drivers, it’s not me. Obviously in the documentary I appear more than others, but I have not looked for it.
- His character is a rarity among the seriousness of Formula 1?
- Surely. But I try not to think about it too much. My character would not fit into a corporate team like Mercedes or McLaren, they demand another profile, although they would be delighted with my presentation. The owner of Haas, Gene Haas, knows me very well, he knows that I am ace and, in fact, if he saw me serious, he would call me to ask if I am sick.
- He was the manager of Carlos Sainz Sr. in the World Rally Championship, jumped into Formula 1 with Jaguar, worked at Red Bull and is now with Haas. He has been around the world for more than 30 years. How is a lifetime like this sustained?
- I have been married for 29 years and with my wife we have not lived another life. We are used to it, also my daughter. It’s not ideal, but it can be managed. A few years ago I moved away from Formula 1, I created my own company, we settled in the United States, I traveled little and I didn’t miss it because I enjoyed it. Now, back to the World Cup, it’s the same. The problem is not traveling, the problem will be having a boring job.
- This season, Haas, with magnussen and hulkenberg, is ahead of Alfa Romeo, Alpha-Tauri and Williams. Are you happy?
- I’m never happy (re). It is a very interesting year for Formula 1 because behind Red Bull we are seven teams at very similar times. I would like to fight for the podiums, to be further up, but every Sunday we fight for points and that is to be happy.
- Also from the return to the top of Fernando Alonso.
- It’s amazing. We all know that Alonso is one of the best drivers, if not the best. He sees things that others don’t, he has a lot of experience, he is very intelligent. But what impresses me the most is that he remains like that at his age. He is winning the race to the passage of time.
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