Drive to Survive‘s fan favorite Guenther Steiner is all set to return to Formula 1, but this time only as a pundit. The Italian-American will be a pundit for German broadcaster RTL and Australian broadcaster Channel 10 for a few race weekends. The first Grand Prix weekend he will cover is the season opener in Bahrain, which will take place from February 29 to March 2. The 58-year-old does have previous experience in punditry as well, having made an appearance at last year’s NASCAR event at the Circuit Of The Americas. In a recent interview, Steiner explained how his new punditry role will be similar to that of three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda.
In an interview with Autosport, Steiner said, “I’m just what they call the expert commentator, like in the good old days Niki Lauda did. It came together very quickly. They texted me last Sunday, asking if I was interested. We talked on Monday, they had a meeting between themselves, and on Tuesday, they asked if I could do it. I said, ‘Sure, why not?'”
The former Haas boss then went on to explain how life is full of “surprises”. He revealed that it was just a few weeks ago when he did not know what he was going to do next in his career, and now he has received an opportunity as a pundit.
After stating the same, Steiner concluded his remarks by explaining how his experience with NASCAR helped. The Italian-American stated that it was his appearance on television for NASCAR that helped him get an idea of what a job as a pundit entails.
Guenther Steiner hopes to be a professional pundit
During the same interview, Guenther Steiner explained how he wanted to be as “professional” as possible as a pundit for the F1 races this season. He understands that while being a pundit will involve him voicing critical opinions about drivers, he is confident that his assessment will only be based on factual analysis and no grudges.
“I’ll try to stay factual. I never start with I need to p*** somebody off. Actually, I’m the opposite. I don’t want to p*** anybody else in my life”, explained Steiner. After stating the same, the 58-year-old also explained how he also had other opportunities in F1 after he was sacked by Haas.
However, since the 2024 calendar will feature a record 24 races, Steiner prefers to take some time off as he does not want to travel that much any longer. As things stand, the Italian-American is just content with his professional life at the moment as he has the luxury of choosing his commitments.
