Guenther Steiner F1 return? Former Haas boss linked with ambitious team ownership bid

Guenther Steiner, pictured in 2024.

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has been linked with a potential return to F1, this time as a team owner in his own right.

Steiner parted ways with the American squad over the winter as he and owner Gene Haas no longer agreed on the direction the team should be taking.

Guenther Steiner linked with F1 team ownership bid

Steiner hasn’t disappeared from public view in the aftermath of his Haas departure, however, with the Italian-American signing up as a pundit for several broadcasters and becoming an ambassador for the Miami Grand Prix.

Steiner even did some work on behalf of F1 directly at the Australian Grand Prix as he carried out the post-race interviews with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

But behind the scenes, Steiner has reportedly been casting around for opportunities to return to the F1 fold and, according to Japanese publication Autosport-web, is on the hunt for an ownership stake in a team.

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The report, published earlier this week, suggests Steiner has already found an investor eager and willing to enter F1, with the funds to back up the payment for a stake.

Steiner is also quoted as saying he is “not interested in running a team on the same premise as Haas.

“I’ve spent so many years in F1 that I want to do more than just participate and score points every once in a while. I want to really compete and try to win.

“I’m not going to come back just to run a team if I don’t have that opportunity.”

The report links Steiner as having an interest in the second Red Bull team, RB, with conditions for a sale put forward as an obligation to run the Red Bull Powertrains-developed power unit between 2026 and ’30 as well as field a Red Bull junior driver.

However, sources with close links to the situation have indicated to PlanetF1.com that Steiner has not had any discussions with RB about a possible sale, despite Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently revealing there is plenty of interest in another party buying the Faenza-based squad.

RB is currently going through a period of rebirth, having been rebranded under new management for 2024 as Franz Tost departed after nearly two decades in charge.

In his place are CEO Peter Bayer and team boss Laurent Mekies, with a push on to raise the team in the Constructors’ Championship after a poor 2023. After four races, the team occupies sixth in the table.

Put to him by OE24 that there are rumours that RB has been put up for sale, Marko replied: “There are a lot of interested parties, but ultimately it’s a shareholder decision.

“The price is high for a team, but nothing has been decided yet.”