Günther Steiner

Lore & Background

Born in Merano, South Tyrol, the son of a butcher, Steiner studied engineering; however, without completing his degree, he then moved to Belgium, where he began his career as a mechanic in the World Rally Championship for Mazda Rally Team Europe from 1986 to 1988. From January 1989 – 1990, Steiner worked as the assistant team manager for Top Run Srl. He acted as head of reconnaissance, and later as a technical manager, at Jolly Club from 1991 to 1996.

In 1997, Steiner managed Prodrive's Allstar Rally team, winning the European Rally Championship with Krzysztof Hołowczyc, and in 1998 M-Sport recruited him as project manager. In 2000, he was promoted to director of engineering, where he worked under the Ford World Rally Team alongside drivers Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz; ultimately, securing consecutive runner-up finishes in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Steiner switched to Formula One in 2001 when Ford's official Formula One full-works team, Jaguar Racing, appointed him as their new team principal.

Niki Lauda headhunted Steiner for the job of managing director. Assuming the role on 3 December, Steiner was responsible for the engineering side of the team at Milton Keynes, while the director of strategy John Allison handled administrative tasks. Steiner reorganised the team and reduced costs during his tenure. However, Jaguar underperformed in the 2002 season, with lead driver Eddie Irvine claiming only eight championship points while teammate Pedro de la Rosa failed to score, and parent company Ford dismissed Lauda on 26 November before making 70 team members redundant.

On 5 December, Jaguar announced Steiner had been replaced by project manager David Pitchforth as part of the restructuring. Spokesman Nav Sidhu said, 'he has relinquished his responsibilities as MD but has done nothing wrong. This organisation is in significantly better shape now than when he joined. Günther has clearly laid down the engineering baseline that David will now aim to take on to the next level.'

Although Jaguar's new management offered Steiner another role in the team, he ultimately declined, and spent the 2003 season on garden leave before replacing Wiet Huidekoper as technical director at Opel Performance Center in November of that year. After Red Bull purchased Jaguar Racing in November 2004, Steiner was invited to join Red Bull Racing.

Rally Roots and Early Engineering

Born in Merano, South Tyrol, the son of a butcher, Steiner studied engineering without completing his degree. He moved to Belgium, where he began his career as a mechanic in the World Rally Championship for Mazda Rally Team Europe from 1986 to 1988. From January 1989 to 1990, he worked as assistant team manager for Top Run Srl, then acted as head of reconnaissance and later technical manager at Jolly Club from 1991 to 1996. In 1997, Steiner managed Prodrive's Allstar Rally team, winning the European Rally Championship with Krzysztof Hołowczyc. M-Sport recruited him as project manager in 1998, and by 2000 he was promoted to director of engineering for the Ford World Rally Team, working alongside Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz to secure consecutive runner-up finishes in the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

The Jaguar Experiment and Red Bull Era

Steiner switched to Formula One in 2001 when Niki Lauda headhunted him for the managing director role at Jaguar Racing. According to Steiner, Lauda asked, 'are there any talented people at Ford?' and the reply was 'there's Günther.' Assuming the role on 3 December, Steiner reorganized the team and reduced costs. However, Jaguar underperformed in 2002, with Eddie Irvine scoring only eight points and Pedro de la Rosa failing to score.

Lauda was dismissed on 26 November, and Steiner was replaced by David Pitchforth on 5 December. He declined another role and spent 2003 on garden leave before becoming technical director at Opel Performance Center. After Red Bull purchased Jaguar in November 2004, Steiner returned to Milton Keynes as technical operations director on 13 January 2005. When Red Bull poached Adrian Newey, owner Dietrich Mateschitz asked Steiner to help establish a NASCAR team in the US.

Feeling the F1 team had become overcrowded, Steiner moved to Mooresville, North Carolina, serving as Team Red Bull's technical director from 1 April 2006 to April 2008.

Building Haas from the Kitchen Table

After leaving Red Bull, Steiner founded Fibreworks Composites in January 2009. The original vision for Haas F1 began with a business plan he wrote at his kitchen table during the financial crisis of the late 2000s. He met Joe Custer and Gene Haas at a steakhouse, proposing they enter F1 by ordering a customer car from an established constructor. With crucial backing from Niki Lauda, Stefano Domenicali, Jean Todt, and Charlie Whiting, the project gained approval.

Steiner, described as 'the prime doer' by Autosport, recruited the core staff, interviewed every team member, and developed partnerships with Dallara and Ferrari. Announced as team principal on 14 April 2014, Haas made its debut in the 2016 season, becoming the first American constructor to compete in F1 in 30 years. The team scored eight points at the 2016 Australian Grand Prix with a 6th-place finish by Romain Grosjean, becoming the first American entry and the first constructor overall since Toyota Racing in 2002 to score in their debut race. Haas finished 8th in the constructors' standings with 29 points.

Public Persona and Departure

During his tenure as Team Principal from 2016 to 2023, Steiner became notable for his forthright personality, particularly through appearances on Netflix's Formula 1: Drive to Survive which featured him frequently swearing. In 2023 he released a book, Surviving to Drive: A year inside Formula 1. In January 2024, Haas chose not to renew Steiner's contract, replacing him with Ayao Komatsu. In May 2024, Steiner sued Haas for non-payment of commissions and unauthorized use of his name and image on merchandise and the team's website.

Haas Automation sued Steiner and his publisher for trademark infringements, but the lawsuit was dismissed in September. In October 2024, Steiner released his second book, Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1. He embarked on a UK tour with a live show from November 2024 to June 2025. In late February 2024, Steiner signed with RTL as a specialist commentator for the 2024 season.

In September 2025, Steiner was named head of the consortium that acquired Red Bull KTM Tech3 MotoGP team, becoming CEO and owner through an investment consortium financed by IKON Capital.