“I don’t have enough talent”: Guenther Steiner and other team principals talk about their personal driving experiences
Follow Us
Guenther Steiner
Team principals are the top bosses of the running, team parts of a Formula 1 organization. They are the public face of the team, oversee all ultimate decisions, make important decisions and create an environment enabling others to work together in harmony, among other things as well. Some are more hands-on, while others are a bit more relaxed in their approach.
While a lot of the current team principals have in fact been driving in Motorsport in the early parts of their careers, none of them are particularly known for their exploits on the track. In terms of team principals who are really known for their driving exploits, there are people from the past like Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart or Alain Prost.
This just goes to show that skill with driving yourself is not a particularly important attribute that you’ll need in order to be successful as a team principal. None of the drivers on the current grid have ever driven in Formula 1. In a recent video posted by Formula 1, they talked about their own experiences with driving.
“Just completely useless” Guenther Steiner never even tried his hand at driving
In the video, the team principals are asked if they were any good at driving before they began working in the organizational and staff component of Motorsport. Some had no experiences with driving at all, while others got somewhat close to Formula 1.
Mike Krack, Aston Martin: “My father was a hill climber in the late 60s and early 70s, he raced Minis. So I was with him on the race tracks all the time, and then I did karting myself, trying to become a professional driver, but at one point, I realize that maybe I have more talent with other things. I changed camp, I’ve changed sides!”
Christian Horner, Red Bull: “I started racing in go-karts when I was 12 years of age. I won a scholarship from Renault to move from karts into car racing. I drove in Formula 3, I drove in Formula 2, I did a little bit of testing in Formula 1.”
Otmar Szafnauer, Alpine: “I did race, when I was much younger, and thinner, and could fit in the car. I think I won my first two races at lower levels in America where I raced open-wheel cars.
Franz Tost, AlphaTauri: “[I drove in] Formula Ford and in Formula 3. I learned a lot, but I was too slow. If I would have been fast, I would have been more successful.”
Guenther Steiner, Haas: “I was once in a car with Colin McRae and I realized [that] I don’t have enough talent. No, completely useless. I never even trie, you know.”
Mattia Binotto, Ferrari: “I never participate on track. If I would have been good at karting, I would not be doing the job I’m doing today.”
As evidenced by their words, you don’t need to be amazingly fast in a car to be a good team principal, but of course, there’s no reason why you could not be. It will be interesting to see if any of the current drivers on the grid ever try their hand as a team principal. It will also be interesting to see what struggling driver will decide to give up his dream and follow in the other team principals’ footsteps.
Stay Updated!
Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)