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Guenther Steiner
Guenther Steiner (born 7 April 1965, German: Günther) is an Italian and American motorsport engineer and former team manager. Steiner was the Team Principal of Haas Formula One Team from 2016 to 2023, the managing director of Jaguar Racing from 2001 to 2003, and technical operations director of its subsequent incarnation, Red Bull Racing. He is currently the CEO and owner of the MotoGP and Moto3 team Red Bull KTM Tech3. He acquired full ownership of the team from Hervé Poncharal through an investment consortium financed by IKON Capital.
Born in Merano, South Tyrol, the son of a butcher, Steiner studied engineering; however, without completing his degree, he then moved to Belgium, where he began his career as a mechanic in the World Rally Championship for Mazda Rally Team Europe from 1986 to 1988.
From January 1989 – 1990, Steiner worked as the assistant team manager for Top Run Srl. He acted as head of reconnaissance, and later as a technical manager, at Jolly Club from 1991 to 1996.
In 1997, Steiner managed Prodrive's Allstar Rally team, winning the European Rally Championship with Krzysztof Hołowczyc, and in 1998 M-Sport recruited him as project manager. In 2000, he was promoted to director of engineering, where he worked under the Ford World Rally Team alongside drivers Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz; ultimately, securing consecutive runner-up finishes in the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Steiner switched to Formula One in 2001 when Ford's official Formula One full-works team, Jaguar Racing, appointed him as their new team principal. Niki Lauda headhunted Steiner for the job of managing director. According to Steiner, "[Lauda] asked, 'are there any talented people at Ford?' And the reply was 'there's Günther.' The guy lied!" Assuming the role on 3 December, Steiner was responsible for the engineering side of the team at Milton Keynes, while the director of strategy John Allison handled administrative tasks.
Steiner reorganised the team and reduced costs during his tenure. However, Jaguar underperformed in the 2002 season, with lead driver Eddie Irvine claiming only eight championship points while teammate Pedro de la Rosa failed to score, and parent company Ford dismissed Lauda on 26 November before making 70 team members redundant.
On 5 December, Jaguar announced Steiner had been replaced by project manager David Pitchforth as part of the restructuring. Spokesman Nav Sidhu said, "he has relinquished his responsibilities as MD but has done nothing wrong. This organisation is in significantly better shape now than when he joined. Günther has clearly laid down the engineering baseline that David will now aim to take on to the next level."
Although Jaguar's new management offered Steiner another role in the team, he ultimately declined, and spent the 2003 season on garden leave before replacing Wiet Huidekoper as technical director at Opel Performance Center in November of that year.
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Guenther Steiner
Guenther Steiner (born 7 April 1965, German: Günther) is an Italian and American motorsport engineer and former team manager. Steiner was the Team Principal of Haas Formula One Team from 2016 to 2023, the managing director of Jaguar Racing from 2001 to 2003, and technical operations director of its subsequent incarnation, Red Bull Racing. He is currently the CEO and owner of the MotoGP and Moto3 team Red Bull KTM Tech3. He acquired full ownership of the team from Hervé Poncharal through an investment consortium financed by IKON Capital.
Born in Merano, South Tyrol, the son of a butcher, Steiner studied engineering; however, without completing his degree, he then moved to Belgium, where he began his career as a mechanic in the World Rally Championship for Mazda Rally Team Europe from 1986 to 1988.
From January 1989 – 1990, Steiner worked as the assistant team manager for Top Run Srl. He acted as head of reconnaissance, and later as a technical manager, at Jolly Club from 1991 to 1996.
In 1997, Steiner managed Prodrive's Allstar Rally team, winning the European Rally Championship with Krzysztof Hołowczyc, and in 1998 M-Sport recruited him as project manager. In 2000, he was promoted to director of engineering, where he worked under the Ford World Rally Team alongside drivers Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz; ultimately, securing consecutive runner-up finishes in the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Steiner switched to Formula One in 2001 when Ford's official Formula One full-works team, Jaguar Racing, appointed him as their new team principal. Niki Lauda headhunted Steiner for the job of managing director. According to Steiner, "[Lauda] asked, 'are there any talented people at Ford?' And the reply was 'there's Günther.' The guy lied!" Assuming the role on 3 December, Steiner was responsible for the engineering side of the team at Milton Keynes, while the director of strategy John Allison handled administrative tasks.
Steiner reorganised the team and reduced costs during his tenure. However, Jaguar underperformed in the 2002 season, with lead driver Eddie Irvine claiming only eight championship points while teammate Pedro de la Rosa failed to score, and parent company Ford dismissed Lauda on 26 November before making 70 team members redundant.
On 5 December, Jaguar announced Steiner had been replaced by project manager David Pitchforth as part of the restructuring. Spokesman Nav Sidhu said, "he has relinquished his responsibilities as MD but has done nothing wrong. This organisation is in significantly better shape now than when he joined. Günther has clearly laid down the engineering baseline that David will now aim to take on to the next level."
Although Jaguar's new management offered Steiner another role in the team, he ultimately declined, and spent the 2003 season on garden leave before replacing Wiet Huidekoper as technical director at Opel Performance Center in November of that year.
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