Netflix's Guenther Steiner joins Miami Grand Prix, ‘unemployed,' yet popular as ever
MIAMI GARDENS — Guenther Steiner comes from the northernmost region in Italy, where skiing and ice hockey matter. There was one hill climb race in which drivers do just what the name implies, but any attempt to retrace Steiner’s lifelong involvement in auto racing is to encounter countless dead ends.
“When I was a kid, I couldn’t even dream about getting a job in motor sport,” he says. “Because there was nothing. I wasn’t exposed to it.”
Exposure isn’t a problem for Steiner, now 58. The Netflix series “Drive to Survive” made him enough of a star that he can’t walk through an airport without feeling eyes upon him. Last year, he got fired as principal of Gene Haas’ Formula 1 team. For some, obscurity would await around the next turn.
For Steiner? Come now.
He was just introduced as an ambassador of the Miami Grand Prix, the third annual event on May 3-5 around Hard Rock Stadium.
He’s doing some TV commentary on Formula 1.
And, yes, there’s still the Netflix thing.
“They filmed already with me,” Steiner says. “They came in February to my house. I said, ‘What do you want to film? A guy who’s changing light bulbs, basically?’ ”
The outlook remains bright for Steiner. He’s happy to talk about the broader perspective he gained by taking a step back from running an F1 team. He concluded he’d spent the past decade trying to compete without having the resources to do so. But he misses the adrenaline rush provided by those 90 minutes of racing on Sunday afternoons and says he’d consider working with another F1 team if the circumstances are right.
So don’t call him retired.
“No, no,” he says. “I’m unemployed.”
There is this ambassador role he unofficially has held since Netflix entered the picture. Talk about Formula 1? Why, he’d be glad to. It’s as natural to him as popping Champagne on the podium is to Max Verstappen. So talk Steiner does, painting the Miami Grand Prix as a trendsetter for what he calls “the modern era of F1” by marrying racing and entertainment and drawing VIPs for a see-and-be-seen event. This Miami Grand Prix will include performances by Ed Sheeran and John Summit. Marc Anthony will sing the national anthem.
Steiner issued a warning to longtime venues digging in their heels and saying, “We stay historic and we do everything like we did 10 years ago.”
Steiner says: “I don’t think when they go get to renewal, F1 will be very happy. Because F1 — I mean, I don’t want to speak for F1 — but F1, I think, has got offers from other venues which want to get on the calendar.”
Guenther Steiner: Miami is showing Formula 1 ‘what is possible'
Not long ago, that was Miami. Steiner credits Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and CEO Tom Garfinkel for showing F1 “what is possible” by staging more than a traditional race for gearheads.
“When you announced it and you say, ‘We are going to do this, that and the other,’ it’s still just talk. It is not walk, you know,” he says. “And then when we came here and we saw … they are not just wanting another grand prix. They want to do their grand prix.”
Tyler Epp, president of the Miami Grand Prix, says Steiner’s involvement elevates the event.
“Guenther has become a household name with F1 fans of all ages and is a perfect ambassador for our race,” Epp says. “He embodies the competitive spirit of the sport and has a clear vision of what F1 in America can be.”
Change was to be expected once Liberty Media purchased the series in 2016, transforming what had been a European-centric sport and reintroducing it into the United States, with races also in Austin, Texas, and Las Vegas.
“Liberty Media obviously knew what is the potential,” he says. ”It’s the biggest economy in the world. You need to come here.”
Steiner: I didn't have financial backing with Haas team
Steiner not only came, he planted roots, making North Carolina his home for nearly two decades. Starting in the sport as a mechanic’s apprentice, Steiner worked his way up until he and Haas put him in charge of an F1 team. That ended last year when Haas didn’t renew Steiner’s contract.
“I should have left a year before,” Steiner says. “I should have left because I couldn’t see that I couldn’t do what my vision was. And in the end, if you lead something, you need to have your vision and to believe in it. I try to do the vision of somebody else, which I knew cannot be working.”
The bottom line, he says, was just that — the bottom line.
“I don’t have the backing, the financial backing, to do it,” he says. “You know, we can squeeze every little drop of juice out of the lemon but it’s just not enough of it.”
Haas finished last in the 2023 F1 constructor standings, but Steiner’s popularity didn’t wane, thanks not only to “Drive to Survive” but also his book, “Surviving to Drive.” Autoweek quoted Steiner saying his status “perhaps” annoyed Haas to the extent it played a role in the parting.
Former F1 executive Bernie Ecclestone told f1-insider.com, “There has never been a more unsuccessful team boss in Formula 1 who still became a superstar thanks to a U.S. documentary. In my time, when only performance mattered, this didn’t exist.”
Steiner, on the other hand, pointed out to European reporters that Haas “benefited enormously” from his popularity by opening the door to sponsors.
Steiner predicts parity will return for Formula 1
Since 2017, no driver not named Max (Verstappen) or Lewis (Hamilton) has won the world championship. Last year, Verstappen won 19 of 22 races. He won Miami to begin a 10-race winning streak, placed fifth in Singapore, then finished the season with seven straight wins. This year, he won two of the first three events.
If you want drama, you’re looking in the wrong place.
“I think competition is always good,” Steiner says. “You have to be honest about that. You know, if there will be a race for P-1 every race, it will be a lot better than having somebody dominating a championship.”
Steiner believes F1 will be competitive soon enough. He points out how Hamilton’s Mercedes team dominated until it didn’t.
“When Mercedes was accused of dominating (its response was), ‘No, no, we just do a better job,’ ” Steiner says. “And now, who is complaining about domination? Mercedes.”
Between the moves Ferrari is making and drivers playing musical chairs for 2025 because of expiring contracts with their teams, Steiner predicts, “All good things come to an end.”
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His time at Haas did. Maybe a year too late. Who knows?
"I've been with the team 10 years constantly and having the opportunity to take a step — not even back but to the side — it gives you an opportunity to … understand it from the outside view,” Steiner says. “That is the most part is enjoyable.”
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Instead of going to sleep on two dozen Sundays a year knowing he’s being judged by the standings, Steiner says his work in Miami will be successful if the grounds are packed with fans on May 5. Many will be there to see Verstappen and Hamilton continue their rivalry. Others, to listen to Sheeran.
This is the life Steiner has chosen — even if that young boy in northern Italy never could have envisioned such an atmosphere.
“We were a very, very good family, but very simple,” he says. “My family ran the butcher shop. Listen. How did you end up here?
“I don’t know.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
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Miami Grand Prix
Where: Miami International Autodrome around Hard Rock Stadium
When: May 3-5
Tickets (for all three days): Campus Pass (general admission ticket with no assigned seat) is $450. Grandstand tickets start at $600. Premium tickets (club, suites, luxury boxes) also available via race website, https://f1miamigp.com/tickets/
Schedule: Friday — includes practice and sprint qualifying. Saturday — includes F1 sprint race, F1 qualifying, F1 academy and Porsche Carrera Cup North America races. Sunday — Includes F1 academy and Porsche Carrera Cup North America races, Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
For information: Visit https://f1miamigp.com, call 305-943-RACE (7223) or 305-843-8000 or email guestexperience@hardrockstadium.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Netflix's Guenther Steiner joins Miami Grand Prix, popular as ever
