Günther Steiner has had a stressful year as Haas boss, but he is optimistic about the upcoming season and a pair of experienced drivers. Roksana Ćwik talked to the Italian about the new title sponsor, relations with Ferrari and the new team boss in Maranello, this year's championship and more.
Is Haas going to shine this year, like your jacket from the F1 interview?I don't know about that. It's too early to say what is happening this year. The midfield is so close together. I mean, I honestly have no idea who is strong and who is not out there. It's very, very non-transparent at the moment. Ten kilos of difference of fuel, you know, it's three tenths of a second. I think there will be ten cars in three tenths of a second, so no idea what is happening.
Guenther Steiner is really out here putting the money in the Moneygram Haas F1 team logo
— FirstSportz F1 (@FirstsportzF1) February 24, 2023
All bling at #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/J1CouRzhBj
Yesterday you told us that there were some problems with Ferrari. Have you spoken to them about this?No, we fixed it. It was fixed overnight. They fixed it yesterday lunchtime, and then they fixed it again overnight, you know, so they will get control over it. It's just something in the throttle system.
What is the most considerable difference between this year's engine and the previous one?I think it's more powerful, but we don't get numbers. I don't have horsepower numbers or anything, but that is what the feeling is. We will see on the racetrack if it has more power or not, but I think that is the biggest difference. They got their engine more reliable, so they could put more power in it. Otherwise, you cannot change the engine in principle. From last year it was frozen.
I know plenty of people are asking the same question, but what are your thoughts on reducing the tests to just three days?When you have a car, just a carry-over regulation, like from 2022 to 2023, it's fine. If you have a new regulation, like you will have again in 2026, you need six days. It's just so much more unknown. But you see now, the second year we have got these regulations… [Now the Red Flag happened during testing for Mercedes] This is the first... No, the second red flag, I think yesterday morning and last night, still got stuck here, and I don't know what happened now, I have no idea. [To his engineer:] – Do you know what happened with the Mercedes? – I don't know, I think we just had an engine go through and it got over. Okay, okay, you see. So, in two days of testing, and everybody is testing a lot, we just had... The cars get very reliable, so I don't think we need more than this. And especially when you have 23 races, by the way.
Yes, it's a very long season. You have reduced the staff at the pit wall. Are you planning to do something similar at other circuits?No. I mean, this is just one of the guys who came up with the idea. He said: «you know, we always try to save money, it's like carrying around the world a big pit wall stand». It costs a lot of money to fly this thing around to ship it around. So, we decided to have it like this because we don't need the people up there. These days, with the communication tools, everybody has got the people in there, and can see as much as we are. We see the same monitors. In theory, we could sit in here, but we need to sit out there because of the good old days. After all, we don't need to be out there, you know. So, that was the only reason.
Jak wyglądają oszczędności rzędu 250.000$? Właśnie tak. #F1PL pic.twitter.com/xACEYYrGFT
— Roksana Ćwik (@RoksanaCw) February 24, 2023
I know it's only the second day of testing, but what are the first impressions of the car?Performance-wise, I don't know. Honestly, I don't know where we are, and I don't know how we compare to the other teams, no idea.
Now Fred Vasseur is the boss of Ferrari. I've seen two episodes of Drive to Survive about Haas, I know you and Vasseur are friends, but what has changed between you and Ferrari now?Nothing. I know Fred as well; Fred is a good friend. I went to see him two weeks ago at the Ferrari factory, so I think there will be no change now. Obviously, I know Mattia a lot longer than I know Fred. I know Mattia more than 20 years, but Fred is also a friend. The last two years we were neighbours all the time, so we have got a good relationship of respect.
After last season, I appreciate your work even more because I noticed that it was a lot of stress for you, also for Gene Haas, the team owner. Do you feel less stressed now?It was stressing last year, obviously. It is hard work, but it doesn't stress me out. I get more stressed about a race than about this stuff. This stuff - I can manage. I mean, I'm very cool about things. Obviously, I need to think because it is hard work, but it is hard work for me. Stress is in a race, you know, that is my stress, but I like that stress. This year it is less pressure because we have got a very good title sponsor with MoneyGram, we are well settled. The team is where we wanted. We still have ways to make, but we have got two experienced drivers, and the team has achieved a lot last year to get ourselves in this position. Now we just need to see how performing we are, but if we don't perform, now we are in a position also to develop and get the performance we want to have. 2021 was just about surviving. 2022 was about building a foundation again, and now we need to put the house on the foundation, and that is what is happening now. So, everything is stressful, but obviously last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine and with all the stuff that was happening… It wasn't easy because I have never been in a situation like this, and I don't want to be again. Not only for me personally, for all the people involved because it wasn't a good situation. Sometimes you have to make this decision, and I still think it was the right decision what we made. I still would do the same. I have no regret to anything.
How has Kevin Magnussen changed since the start of his career compared to today?He is a lot more mature; we all get older and get more mature.
You told in Drive to Survive that he looks ten years older…Yeah, he does. He does look ten years older; he is not a boy anymore. He is a man now, he is married, he has children. When you get older, you feel more responsibility. It is all the same for us, and then you take what is important when you are 20 years old, and what is important when you are 30 years old, that changes.
What do you think of the calendar? Is it too big, or does something need to be changed in it?No, I think going back to when you asked me about testing, if we control testing, I think 23 [races] are the limit we should have currently with this business model. You can then make a second business model, but I think the market isn't ready for that. There will be more races, but having two teams running, more money coming in, I think for this business model we are at the limit. I think what we need to do is to group the races a little bit in regions. I know that FOM is working on it, but it cannot be done in a year because some of the promoters have got ten-year contracts, and in the ten-year contract, they have got the date, so you cannot change it. They don't want to change it, and obviously, they don't want to change it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have put it on that date in the first place. We have to wait a few years until we cycle through this because we have nothing against alternating races one year in-one year out, so we get a little bit of variety; not always the same calendar in the same places. I think there are plenty of ideas, but now the demand is here for the sport, so I think what we should do, we should fulfil the demand.
Don't you think F1 is losing its DNA because we are changing tracks for new ones? What is your opinion on it?No, I don't think they are losing the DNA. What I think F1 is doing very well is the racing because I know that you are also talking about all the show around the races, I understand completely, but the race is still the centre point of an event. Obviously, how you spice it up is down to promoters, how you get people to the racetrack, which want to see F1. But F1 is two hours a day, we call it like this roughly. The rest of the day, these days, people want to be entertained as well. Different tracks have different ideas, and I quite like it that they are all different from each other. Can you imagine, we have got 23 races like in the old days, where we just go racing and nothing else happens? We couldn't fill 23 races in my opinion. But the most important thing is that racing is still the centre point of an F1 event.
Which race do you like the most?I always like to go to Australia; I always like to go there.
Why?It's a racetrack, it's in the city, you can walk to the racetrack, the people are very nice, and in the old days, again back to the old days, it was the first race, so the hopes are high, and all that good stuff. It's early in the season, you're not tired, you're full of energy… In general, it's a nice country, it's a nice racetrack, I just like it, sometimes you just like things.
What is your opinion about Nico Hülkenberg so far?I think he's doing a good job. He came in here, fitted in quick in the team. When he got in the car yesterday morning, it was like he was here for a long time already. He has got a good way of treating people, with respect. But up to now, we are still in the honeymoon phase obviously, we haven't done a race and I can’t say how great he is. Let's wait a little bit up to now, I'm happy, and I'm happy that we got this experience available for the team.
I think we've got everything. Thank you so much.My pleasure.
