Guenther Steiner: From F1 to MotoGP with Red Bull KTM Tech3

Former Haas Formula 1 Team Principal will step into his new role on 1 January next year, marking a new chapter in his 40-year motorsport career. Steiner described his lifelong passion for two-wheel racing and explained why MotoGP has always fascinated him.

Steiner said of his appointment: “It’s one of the sports I’ve always liked because it’s just so exciting. The racing is incredibly close, and the talent of the riders really shines through. In MotoGP, it’s much more down to the rider than the driver in Formula 1. They fight man to man on the bike. It’s pretty cool to watch when they’re so close together.”

Steiner said his admiration for MotoGP goes back many years but that he had never found the right opportunity to get involved until now: “The bikes are monsters, the speed they go and the speed they can go. I always loved MotoGP, but I never had the opportunity to get involved. Now that chance came, and I said, ‘Let’s try to do this.’”

Steiner takes charge of Tech3 alongside an investment fund, acquiring MotoGP’s oldest privately-owned team. Founder Hervé Poncharal will remain with the outfit as a consultant.

“Hervé is a great guy with a lot of experience. He’s done it for a long time and having him stay on with us next year is a big advantage.”

Steiner praised MotoGP’s open and competitive structure, pointing out that independent teams are capable of challenging for championships: “In MotoGP, an independent team can win a championship. Last year’s world champion wasn’t a works Ducati; it was a privately-run Ducati.

"That shows how open and competitive it is. If you do a good job, you can win. The sport is amazing, the action is there, but I think it deserves an even bigger audience. One of the opportunities I see is to bring this incredible, high-adrenaline racing to more people," he explained.

Steiner outlined a long-term plan to establish the new Tech3 leadership structure. “It will take three to five years to build everything up and put our feet under the table. I respect MotoGP a lot. There are great people with years of experience. You can’t buy experience - it takes time.”

Steiner compared MotoGP legends Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi to Formula 1’s most dominant figures: “Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi - for me, they’re the best. Marc is the Max Verstappen of MotoGP. He’s just got that edge, that little bit more. And Valentino… he was unique, a real character who could do anything on a bike.”

While Steiner brings decades of motorsport leadership, he said his first priority will be to learn the MotoGP landscape before implementing change: "I can bring almost 40 years of motorsport experience. But first, I need to understand what MotoGP can use from me.

"I’ll spend the first six months learning before saying what needs to change, because the people in MotoGP have done this for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for that," added Steiner.