Guenther Steiner made a return to the F1 paddock earlier this week, but not as a team principal. He joined German-based media RTL as their TV expert, for which he traveled to the Bahrain International Circuit. There, he opened up on his beef with former driver Ralf Schumacher, Mick Schumacher’s uncle, but revealed that things between them are fine now.
Steiner came under heavy fire from Schumacher after the former Haas boss sacked his nephew at the end of the 2022 season. Mick was underperforming, and $5 million worth of crash damages were not helping his reputation. Ralf Schumacher, however, did not like the way his nephew was ‘thrown out’ of the team and hence hurled criticism at Steiner.
With Steiner no longer associated with Haas, Schumacher’s anger on the Italian-American seemed meaningless. Speaking about this, the former Haas team principal said as per Motorsport Total, “I’m friends with Ralf again. The world is in order again. We have decided that we have different opinions. Everything is fine.”
Guenther Steiner will be back in the Formula 1 paddock in 2024, with German broadcaster RTL having signed him to a punditry role this season.#F1 pic.twitter.com/wmPEjrRgMp
— Formula 1 Daily (@Formula1_Daily) February 23, 2024
There were several instances where Ralf took a dig at Steiner. Apart from directly blaming the former Hass boss for Mick’s dismissal, Schumacher often blamed Steiner for the problems his team faced. Haas became a consistent backmarker, and the German felt that the former team principal was responsible for it. He was a happy man after Gene Haas sacked Steiner ahead of the start of the season. Citing this, Schumacher said, “The fish always stinks at the head.”
Steiner and Schumacher have moved on since. As for Mick Schumacher, he is still finding his way back to the world of F1. He spent the 2023 season as Mercedes’ reserve and is now set to delve into a new venture.
Mick Schumacher’s life following Haas days
After his Haas departure, Mick Schumacher got an offer from Toto Wolff’s team. He joined Mercedes as the reserve driver behind Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for the 2023 season. He spent a lot of time as a simulator driver, helping the team make progress and develop in 2023.
Wolff tried his best to give a seat to Schumacher, but there was no opening, at his team or elsewhere. Because of limited opportunities in F1, Schumacher decided to join Alpine’s hypercar team, for the World Endurance Championship.
Thursday done ✅ @SignatechAlpine @FIAWEC pic.twitter.com/ogFIlOKlpl
— Mick Schumacher (@SchumacherMick) February 29, 2024
On this, he said as per F1.com, “There is no reason to stay here [in F1], not race, fall behind everybody… I would rather go out there, find something to race, and develop my skills. In the end, if that leads to no way back into F1 but leads to another career, then I am happy to do that.”
Additionally, Schumacher will continue as a Mercedes reserve. He will be hoping for strong performances in the WEC, which could potentially pave a road back to F1 for him.
