- Guenther Steiner promises untold F1 stories, candid insights and plenty of laughs during his No Team Orders Australian tour beginning December 8.
- Each show will feature a 15-to-20-minute audience Q&A, offering fans the chance to hear unexpected paddock stories.
- Steiner named Niki Lauda, Mattia Binotto and Ayrton Senna as his ideal companions for an Australian road trip.
Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner has promised Australian audiences an entertaining evening of untold paddock stories, candid observations and his trademark straight-talking approach when he brings his No Team Orders show Down Under.
Having established himself as one of Formula 1’s most recognisable personalities through Netflix’s Drive to Survive, the Italian-American has successfully translated his larger-than-life character into a career beyond the confines of the Grand Prix paddock.
And while his colourful language and uncompromising management style have become synonymous with his public persona, Steiner insists his forthcoming Australian appearances will offer considerably more than the occasional expletive.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Motorsport Reports, Steiner explained that the show would combine personal experiences from his extensive motorsport career with observations on the contemporary Formula 1 landscape.
“What they can expect [is] a little bit about my life, a little bit about current F1. And it’s pretty lighthearted. It’s good fun. It’s not serious,” Steiner explained.
“I mean, there’s serious stuff in as well. We’re not just clowns, but it will be entertainment. I like that the people enjoy what they listen to.”
For a man whose Formula 1 career has spanned several decades, including a formative role in establishing Haas as an independent constructor, there is certainly no shortage of material.
Indeed, despite his experiences having already been documented through television appearances and published books, Steiner confirmed there are still stories which have yet to reach the public domain.
“Yeah, there’s always new stories. Absolutely, yeah.”
Expect the unexpected
One of the more intriguing elements of Steiner’s live performances is the opportunity for audiences to interrogate the former team principal themselves.
The final 15 to 20 minutes of each show are reserved for questions, providing fans with an opportunity to explore subjects which might otherwise escape the conventional media spotlight.
And while Steiner has become accustomed to fielding questions about virtually every aspect of Formula 1, he admits audiences continue to surprise him.
“You think you have been asked everything by now because I’m around a lot and I do a lot, but there is always something unexpected and new,” he said.
“That makes it very exciting for me.”
Unsurprisingly, some subjects have become particularly familiar, including the enduring debate surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s controversial defeat to Max Verstappen in the 2021 championship.
Yet it is the unexpected questions which Steiner finds most rewarding.
“It’s always good when I have to dig deep to answer the questions.”
For Australian supporters accustomed to seeing Steiner’s unfiltered reactions through the carefully edited lens of Drive to Survive, the prospect of an unscripted exchange offers a different insight into the man behind the television personality.
And having spent much of his professional life navigating the political complexities of Formula 1, few individuals are better positioned to provide an entertaining account of the sport’s internal workings.
An Australian road trip with three F1 legends
When challenged to nominate three Formula 1 personalities, past or present, to accompany him on a hypothetical road trip around Australia, Steiner delivered a selection combining friendship, admiration and a healthy dose of humour.
His first choice was three-time world champion Niki Lauda, a figure whose formidable influence extended well beyond his achievements behind the wheel.
“I would choose Niki Lauda, I would have him with me,” Steiner said.
Next came former Ferrari team principal and current Audi executive Mattia Binotto, although Steiner was quick to establish one important condition.
Binotto would not be entrusted with the driving.
“Mattia, and he would be the guy I wouldn’t like to drive because he thinks he’s a good driver but he’s not,” Steiner joked.
“Mattia Binotto from Audi, he’s a good friend.”
Completing the trio was Ayrton Senna, the legendary Brazilian three-time world champion whose career was tragically cut short at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.
Unlike Lauda and Binotto, Steiner never had the opportunity to establish a personal relationship with the three-time world champion.
An Australian road trip, therefore, would provide the perfect opportunity to rectify that.
The choices offered a fitting reflection of Steiner’s personality: an appreciation for Formula 1’s history, loyalty to those he has worked alongside and an inability to resist a joke at a friend’s expense.
For those attending No Team Orders, that combination promises to be central to the evening.
Although his tenure at Haas concluded at the end of 2023, Steiner remains closely connected to international motorsport, with interests extending into MotoGP and the Tech3 KTM operation.
And despite occasionally identifying shortcomings in the management of contemporary Formula 1 teams, he maintains that he is content with life beyond the pit wall.
“I’m very happy where I am in the moment,” he reflected.
For Australian audiences, that means an opportunity to hear from one of the sport’s most outspoken personalities without the restrictions of a team principal’s responsibilities.
And if Steiner’s enthusiasm for unexpected questions is anything to go by, the most memorable moments might not come from the stories he has prepared, but from those the audience persuades him to tell.
The Australian and New Zealand leg of Steiner’s No Team Orders tour will begin December 8.
