Marco Bezzecchi
As Formula 1 fan favourite Guenther Steiner has secured his move into MotoGP with his purchase of Tech3 reportedly finalised, here’s everything you need to know about the team’s new owner.
Following months of speculation, the former F1 team principal will purchase Tech3 from Herve Poncharal, who still owned the team despite having stepped back from his role as team manager in 2023.
Steiner will become the team’s CEO, with his business partner Richard Coleman stepping into the role of team principal.
Ahead of the purchase, Steiner had sought a guarantee from MotoGP promoters Dorna that Tech3 would be on the 2027 MotoGP grid.
Steiner worked as the team principal of Haas F1 Team until 2023, gaining worldwide recognition in 2019 after appearing in Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’, with fans loving his iconic quotes and brutal honesty.
What is Guenther Steiner’s age?
Guenther Steiner is 60 years old and was born on April 7, 1965. He chose to study engineering, but did not finish his degree before he moved to Belgium to begin his career as a mechanic in 1986.
Steiner has spent almost 40 years working in motorsport, joining Mazda to work on their World Rally Championship car.
Where is Guenther Steiner from? What is his nationality?
Steiner was born in Merano, Northern Italy, which sits at the entrance of the Passeier Valley. His hometown is a municipality of South Tyrol and sits within a basin, surrounded by mountains.
The son of a butcher, he now holds dual citizenship with America and Italy. Despite many thinking Steiner is German, due to his ability to speak fluent German, he is actually Italian.
What is Guenther Steiner’s net worth? How much was he paid in Formula 1?
Steiner had a reported net worth of $5m (£4m) during his time at Haas. According to Sportskeeda in 2024, Steiner’s annual salary of $1m (£753k) made him the fifth richest team principal, despite his contract with Haas coming to an end in 2023.
Guenther Steiner’s previous motorsport career and role with Haas F1 Team
Guenther Steiner made his debut in motorsport in 1986, where he worked as a mechanic for Mazda’s World Rally Championship team. He remained with the Japanese-originated team for two years before moving to Top Run Srl, where he became an assistant team manager.
In 1991, Steiner joined the Italian motor racing team Jolly Club in 1991 working as their technical manager for five years. After moving to Prodrive in 1997 as their manager, he helped secure the team the European Rally title, before moving to M-Sport as a project manager the following year.
Two years later, Steiner was promoted to director of engineering, working alongside drivers Carlos Sainz Sr and Colin McRae as part of the Ford World Rally Team, where they secured back-to-back second place finishes in the 2000 and 2001 championships.
Steiner made the jump to Formula 1 in 2001, where he was appointed as the team principal of Jaguar, replacing former boss Niki Lauda, who had reportedly attempted to headhunt Steiner to become the team’s managing director. He was replaced just two years later and did not return to the paddock until 2005, when he joined Red Bull after they purchased Jaguar.
Working as the technical operations director alongside former team principal Christian Horner during the 2005 season, Steiner later agreed to move to America to help establish the team’s NASCAR squad, where he remained until 2008.
Guenther Steiner was hired by Haas in 2014 as their team principal, two years before the American team officially made their debut on the grid in 2016.
His best result with the team came in 2018, when Haas finished fifth in the 2018 constructors’ championship standings with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in the cars. Steiner remained with the team until the end of 2023, with the Italian leaving the team after his contract expired.
Guenther Steiner writes two books on his experience in F1
Guenther Steiner has produced two books about his experience working as the Haas team principal between 2014 and 2023. His first book, released in 2023, is titled ‘Surviving to Drive’, paying homage to his beloved appearances on the Netflix documentary series ‘Drive to Survive’
The book offered fans an insight into the 2022 Formula 1 season through his eyes, including his experience of working with drivers Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen. ‘Surviving to Drive’ became an instant No.1 Sunday Times best-seller and led to Steiner producing a second book.
‘Unfiltered’ was released in 2024 and took fans inside Steiner’s decade-long career as Haas team principal, fully immersing readers into all the highs and lows that came during that time.
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