Guenther Steiner risks Lewis Hamilton’s anger

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner likely won't be on Lewis Hamilton's Christmas card list.

Participating in a round of the ‘Guenther Steiner meme challenge’ with Sky Sports’ Joe Thomlinson, the Haas team principal was asked to choose between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen as his next Haas driver. 

Steiner immediately pointed to the Drake meme, indicating his preference for Verstappen.

Explaining his choice, Steiner stated, “It came automatically to me when people compare. Don’t speak to me, yeah, you know why.” 

The reason behind his choice is simply that the Italian rates Verstappen higher than Hamilton.

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When pressed to select one as his next Haas driver, Steiner confidently responded, “Max. He’s just on a roll at the moment; he cannot do anything wrong in my opinion. 

“Everything that he does sticks, so you want to go with the guy who’s got the luck attached to him.

“And he’s got the talent, not only luck, he’s got a lot of talent.”

Steiner also discussed Haas’ chances of securing their first podium finish this season. 

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Despite the team’s absence from the top three in 153 Grands Prix, he expressed hope and stated, “Maybe not expecting, but we’re always hoping and working hard. 

“If the opportunity arises, we must be ready to take it, like we took the opportunity last year in Brazil for the pole position.”

However, Haas has faced setbacks in their pursuit of success, including engine failures from their supplier Ferrari. 

When asked about his reaction to these failures, Steiner expressed anger, saying, “I get angry. I’m not crying; I’m looking for someone from our engine supplier to choke him. 

“I know who to blame, but how I’m going to treat him…” Thomlinson jokingly added, “How are you going to kill him?” to which Steiner replied, “I don’t want to say that, you said it.”

The conversation took a lighter turn as they discussed Toto Wolff and his headset throwing antics. 

Steiner empathised, saying, “I feel so sorry for him because his headset is broken; he has to buy a new one. 

“Normally it’s when he’s on camera.” 

When questioned if Wolff plays to the cameras, Steiner commented, “I don’t know, but I was just told what you see on Drive to Survive from last year. 

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“I was there; I made my comments. That’s it; otherwise, Toto gets upset with me.”

Steiner also shared his thoughts on Martin Brundle’s “invasive” track walk interviews, describing Brundle as a character. 

He jokingly remarked, “It’s always good to poke him a little bit because he’s already a bit invasive, I would call him. So, you need to be a little bit ‘no, not again Martin,’ even if I don’t mind to do it.”