Why Steiner declined F1 return for MotoGP team ownership

Ex-Haas team boss Guenther Steiner says his desire for a fresh challenge motivated him to take over the Tech3 MotoGP squad rather than pursue a return to Formula 1.

Earlier this month, it was announced that a consortium led by Steiner had acquired KTM’s satellite team from its previous owner Herve Poncharal.

The deal will see the Italian step up to the role of CEO in 2026, with his business partner Richard Coleman replacing Poncharal as team principal.

While Steiner is best known for being the architect of Gene Haas’ eponymous team, he actually started his career in rallying in the 1980s, initially as a mechanic, and even helped Red Bull launch its NASCAR team in 2006. MotoGP, hence, will become the fourth discipline of motorsport he has worked in.

Although Steiner has remained involved in F1 as a pundit since his departure from Haas at the end of 2023, a more hands-on role wasn’t tempting to him, leading him to pivot towards motorcycle racing.

“Why not another project in Formula 1? First of all, I would say [MotoGP] is something I always looked at and never had time [for], and it was interesting,” he said.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Red Bull VP of competition Gunther Steiner

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

“I think Formula 1 is at the stage [where] I've done it, I've been there long enough, so I [wanted to] do something new. I always like new challenges. I moved to the States to open up a NASCAR team when I was in Formula 1.

“Formula 1 is fantastic, but it's not the only thing you can do in motorsport. I always like challenges in my life to do something new because when we started, I thought, ‘do you think I can make this happen?’ And we made it happen.”

Coleman revealed that Steiner had several job opportunities within F1 but, after Haas chose not to renew his contract two years ago, he wanted a role where he could have full control over his destiny.

“Guenther's had quite a few offers and bits and bobs in Formula 1, but we've both been in environments where we've had strained relationships with people we've worked with, and we just wanted to do something that was very much on our terms, that we had full control over,” he explained.

“So, looking at it like a five-year horizon, we're pretty excited as to what we think we can do in this paddock.

“We approach that with total humility, and we're gonna take a while to learn, but we don't want to just make up the numbers. So we have to look at a project that we thought we'd ultimately be able to succeed in, in the long term.”