Steiner (Tech3): "My wife said, 'You're an idiot'

Guenther Steiner has been a charismatic figure in the Formula 1 paddock and will soon be in MotoGP as well. General manager of one of the most modest teams, Haas, he became famous thanks to the Netflix series, his personality, and his witty remarks. In the near future, he has several projects in the works, such as entering Moto2 with Tech3.

The Italian-American manager left four wheels to enter the Motorcycle World Championship with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team, purchased from Hervé Poncharal in 2025. On the British podcast "High Performance," the Tyrolean Steiner recounted the key stages of this move to MotoGP. The idea came to him during the 2024 MotoGP round in Texas. "I was on the plane back from Austin and I thought it would be great to have a team in the premier class. It’s a growing sport with great potential. Then I spoke to some people about a license. But they told me there weren’t any available; I would have to buy a team."

Guenther Steiner set out to find investors to acquire the French Tech3 team, at that time the only one available on the market. Day by day, the idea became reality, despite his wife’s disapproval. "My wife told me: ‘You’re an idiot!’ That was her first reaction. She said to me: ‘Why are you doing this? You’ve worked so hard over these last years.’ And she keeps asking me: ‘Why are you doing all this?’ But I have to do something. I can’t sit still, it’s too hard for me! I just want to do it, even if I don’t have to."

Meanwhile, the Tech3 team is not going through its best period, much like KTM. Bastianini is unable to replicate the performances he showed during his Ducati days, and Vinales is grappling with endless physical problems, in addition to having criticized the Austrian manufacturer’s contractual modus operandi. From next MotoGP season, Steiner will have two notable names in the garage, such as Luca Marini and Senna Angius, still awaiting official confirmation.

In Moto3 as well, everything points to a new line-up, given that Perrone and Samela will likely leave the team and the category. And soon he could complete the project with a team in Moto2. "I always keep an eye on anything worthwhile, because it would be nice to have the full range. All three. It would make more sense to have Moto2 and MotoGP, but in the end we got Moto3 and MotoGP. We’ll see. But I’m keeping an eye on the situation and maybe, if the opportunity arises, we can evaluate it. I’m not ruling it out."

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