With Guenther Steiner getting the axe at Haas, there are now two former-Italian stalwarts of the F1 sitting on the sidelines ahead of the 2024 season. Steiner joins Mattia Binotto, who got sacked by Ferrari after the end of the 2022 season. However, ESPN F1’s Nate Saunders has urged the duo of Steiner and Mattia Binotto to not sit idle. He wants them to do a spin-off of the iconic British sitcom, The Trip, as a worthy alternative to F1 given their inherent personalities.
While speaking on the UNLAPPED podcast, Saunders said,
“That’s how I see [Mattia] Binotto and [Guenther] Steiner. Just better accents and a bit more of a niche topic of conversation. That would be amazing. I mean I would pay good money to watch that show!”
Saunders was referring to the critically acclaimed show ‘The Trip’ starring arguably two of the greatest British comics – Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, where they play fictionalized versions of themselves taking restaurant tours all over Europe.
Adapting to the format of the show won’t be as hard for the duo of Binotto and Steiner. Their bromance took center stage in F1 when, in similar circumstances, the opening scenes of Season 5 of Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries captured their alluring drive in the scenic mountainsides and a trip down a vineyard.
With the duo out of their respective F1 jobs and with some time to kill, they could actually make a solid show out of this format.
Was sacking Guenther Steiner the answer to Haas’ struggles?
Gene Haas shocked the world when he decided to sack Steiner, who had been with the team since 2016. Reports in the media have suggested that a 10th placed finish in the 2023 constructors’ table and a long-standing tussle with Gene Haas as the reason behind the sacking.
While internally, fingers were being pointed at Steiner as he packed up his things, in the media, the story is different. Gene Haas was the one picking up a lot of flak for his decision to sack Steiner with many claiming that it was his stewardship that has resulted in Haas’ poor fortunes.
The American F1 team is arguably one of the least-funded teams in the sport and with the owners unwilling to spruce up the Bank, the Kannapolis-based team has some of the most outdated and archaic infrastructural capabilities.
Steiner cannot be singlehandedly blamed for the team’s constant misery. The commercials arranged by Haas mean that they also have a logistical nightmare to endure every season. The team is based out of the US, with its factory premises in the UK, it’s design team housed within the Ferrari campus in Maranello and a chassis supplier in the shape of Dallara.
