Guenther Steiner released a book in 2023, giving insights into his life and the state of affairs at Haas from the 2022 season. The book titled ‘Surviving to Drive’ was a clever wordplay on ‘Drive to Survive’, the Netflix docuseries that shot him to fame. It was an instant hit among fans and taking a cue from its success, Steiner is ready to release another one.
The former Haas team principal is yet to disclose the name of his second book. However, he already has a release date in mind which he disclosed in a recent interview.
Steiner announced that while talking about what’s going on in his life since getting out of F1. Speaking with Autosport, he said,
“I’ve done some TV work for Austrian, Australian, German and all. A little bit French TV, not speaking French, that is obvious, but I do French TV. I’m doing TV work, I do corporate events. A lot of work on the new book which is coming out in October as well. Been very busy and the strange thing is I never saw this coming.”
“Take care, you bunch of wankers. See you on the other side!”
What a way to end this diary/memoir, ‘Surviving to Drive,’ by @HaasF1TeamBoss (Guenther Steiner).
This book was highly entertaining. Steiner’s honesty and writing is exactly how he presents himself in public. His… pic.twitter.com/Q2gWlIb1Pn
— Eric Bahn (@ericbahn) July 15, 2024
After working with Haas since its inception, the team decided to part ways with him earlier this year in January. Soon after, Steiner talked about being in the process of writing another book with the help of a ghostwriter.
While he refrained from disclosing the contents of the book, it would be fair to expect some juicy details about the friction with the team and its owner Gene Haas. His first book, ‘Surviving to Drive’, sold more than 150,000 copies worldwide.
The team and Gene Haas did not have any problems with the contents of his first book until Steiner’s sacking. Once he initiated a series of lawsuits against Gene Haas, the team owner decided to sue Steiner back by making a reference to the contents of the Italian-American’s first book.
Steiner could be risking another lawsuit
Steiner initiated the legal battle with an allegation of breach of contract for unpaid commissions from the final three years of his employment with Haas. He also made claims about the team continuing to profit from the use of his name through merchandise sales.
This led to the team filing a lawsuit of their own against him. That pertained to an alleged trademark infringement. Haas’ documents, as quoted by Racer, stated,
“In 2023, without permission or consent from Haas Automation, Steiner authored, marketed, promoted, sold, distributed, and profited from a publication titled ‘Surviving to Drive’ (the ‘Accused Product’), which unlawfully used and displayed, and continues to use and display, the Haas Automation Trademarks and the Haas Automation Trade Dress for Steiner’s personal financial gain and illicit profit.”
With him already having faced a lawsuit for his first book, Steiner can choose to stay clear of the use of such trademarks in his second book. However, that is unlikely to stop him from narrating some behind-the-scenes drama from the 2023 season.
