The difference between a TV series and the track
With the failure to renew at the end of 2023 of Gunther SteinerGene Haas – owner of the American Formula 1 team of the same name – wanted to underline the desire to reverse the results on the track, which saw the team finish the season in last place.
The farewell to Steiner greatly surprised the new Formula 1 fans (in 2021 34% of fans had followed the category for five years or less), who had learned to know the Italian team principal thanks to the clips dedicated to him on Drive to Survive.
The American TV series had in fact brought out the rough figure by Steiner, thanks to some iconic phrases with which it has addressed its pilots over the years. But as popular as the South Tyrolean was, this was not enough for Haas, who decided to put engineer Ayao Komatsu in his place.
Steiner and the sponsors
When the news of the separation between Steiner and Haas spread, some information sources had underlined how some commercial partners – the title sponsor MoneyGram above all – were not exactly jumping for joy.
The indiscretion was indirectly confirmed by Steiner himself, during the interview given toAutosport International Show: “Maybe Drive to Survive played a role in my goodbye, but It's a fact that Haas has benefited enormously from this popularity. The contact with investors like MoneyGram came precisely thanks to this“. Steiner, however, wanted to specify: “I never tried to become famous. People who know me know that this aspect is not of great importance to me, I have never gotten up in the morning thinking of becoming famous. I always got up to go at work”.
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