I read a book: Unfiltered, by Guenther Steiner

a review

Welcome to this free edition of Formula Curious! Feel free to share it far and wide :)

I read this book in November 2024, wrote this, and then sat on it waiting for the right time to release it. I now deem it to be time.

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While the F1 fandom was fretting about what Toto Wolff may or may not have meant about Lewis Hamilton when he used the term “shelf life” I was reading Unfiltered, by Guenther Steiner. I’ve previously read Surviving to Drive, and, as Steiner says Unfiltered is his “second piece of quality literature.” And honestly, of the two I liked Unfiltered more. But that is a very short review, even if it is a positive one. So, let’s get into it.

I was surprised and delighted to find it in my local library.

Surviving to Drive, Guenther’s first piece of quality literature, went through the 2022 season in a quick kind of diary form. Unfiltered goes through Steiner’s motorsport career, as the subtitle of the book suggests, but the better part is that it goes into considered detail. It isn’t written as quick diary entries and we get a far better insight as to what happened, outwith the throes of the moment. It’s also clear that Steiner isn’t constrained by previous (Gene) Haas shaped obstacles. Steiner doesn’t name and shame with no regard, because he does have some bridges he doesn’t want to burn, but there’s a few tales of Gene Haas in there that Steiner couldn’t (or wouldn’t) share before.

Some of these stories left me rolling my eyes and muttering, “rich people.” By which I mean, some of the spendthrift stories are ridiculous, as well as disrespectful of team staff. I’m referring to a saga Steiner calls Beangate. I won’t spoil it for you, but, shall we say, there’s a lot of character shown in that short chapter. (Ok … something something risking food poisoning because Gene was being cheap something something.)

It was obvious while reading Surviving to Drive, and from watching Drive to Survive, that Steiner was getting burned out from running Haas F1. Regarding that, in Unfiltered he says: "I was like an overbearing father who says too many rude words and embarrasses everybody at parties, whereas Gene was like a mysterious rich uncle who appears every so often or of nowhere but who nobody really knows."

A moment with the overbearing father sitting on the pitwall with his chief engineer, getting very excited about early race progress. (Their drivers at the time were Romain Grojean and Estean Gutierrez.) (Yes that is my thumb, and, I know, it’s adorable.)

On top of that, it became apparent in their later years together that there was a difference of opinion between Steiner and Haas (Gene) on the topic of money and how much was needed to run the team, amongst other things. Whilst I knew some of this stuff from inhaling so much news and gossip about F1, I still enjoyed Guenther telling us in a more considered way what was happening.

Steiner goes into the background of the Rich Energy saga; a topic Drive to Survive made look all kinds of ridiculous. I mean, it is ridiculous, but there’s way more to it. And then there was how F1 got through the pandemic—Steiner uses the word “resurrect” when talking about it. And, more importantly for the book, how Guenther got Haas F1 through it. I didn’t previously realise how hard things had been. Yes, it was hard for all of us. I mean Formula 1 is a business built on advertising revenue but the advertising had suddenly stopped, and the team owner was refusing to back his team and the sport.

Haas F1 have had close links with Ferrari from the beginning, thanks to Steiner’s links/networks with Stefano Domenicalli and others at Ferrari. Steiner asserts the food at the Ferrari factory in Maranello is apparently very good, and, to be honest, I would expect that. Naturally, I aspire to establish this for myself one day.

I enjoyed reading about how Steiner built the team up from an idea to a reality; it’s a shame that the team doesn’t have his name on it. Especially how things worked out between him and Haas (Gene), but Steiner himself seems to have no problem with that. Another thing I enjoyed that is kind of hidden in plain sight, is Steiner's voice throughout the book. It’s something I enjoyed in Surviving to Drive, also. By that, I mean I like the way he tells the tale, the words he uses, the sentences he chooses to construct.

I wasn’t grown up enough to be crying by the end of that chapter. Just so you know.

It’s common knowledge, for a given value of common, that Liberty Media bought the F1 brand from Bernie Ecclestone. But less publicised is the actual changes that filtered through as a result of this, and Steiner elaborates on this. The changes that Claire Williams, then Williams team principal, was pushing for with respect to a budget cap came through in this new era, and more or less only because of the change in leadership at the top. As an F1 nerd, I enjoyed getting my eyeballs on that kind of detail, what the attitudes were about it and, also importantly, how they changed.

Steiner does give credit to Ecclestone for the work he did in growing F1 back in the day. But he also says that it was time for Ecclestone to step aside, as his methods and expectations were hindering the sport. Steiner also notes that Ecclestone has said that he’d take a bullet for Putin. I, for one, am very glad he is no longer in charge of Formula 1.

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Side note: Recent tax fraud investigations have also shown that Ecclestone is the kind of person who forgets about a bank account with $400 million in it. (If you have money, good for you, but pay your damn taxes.)

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Another change as a result of Liberty Media is Drive to Survive. Steiner still hasn’t watched any of it. And why would he need to watch it? Guenther got to see the arguments between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner play out in real time in the flesh. Speaking of which, he believes the rivalry between Toto and Horner to be genuine.

"[...] their differences in character and personality, which seem to align exactly with the culture of the teams they represent, make fire an almost perfect rivalry and one that I hope will continue making me die laughing for many years to come."

That was something I hadn’t quite noticed before Guenther pointed it out here; Mercedes and Red Bull are very much mirrors of their team principals.

Haas F1 has had a few drivers over the years, and Steiner has opinions about all of them. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t. He’s fond of many, but not so much the one that came with an investigation from the World Anti Drug Association (WADA), and a fresh case of him committing sexual assault that he documented himself.

But yea, there’s a lot to Steiner’s career. From working with the Jaguar F1 team with Niki Lauda, to starting a Formula 1 team essentially for the lols, to getting the team through a global pandemic. All while saying “fok” a lot.

I enjoyed the journey through Steiner’s career, and his commentary on Big Things, little things, and fiery things, and the FIA’s recent habit of trotting out lame excuses for things…

In conclusion: Unfiltered; I’d read that. (Again.)

Have you read Unfiltered? What did you think?

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(Yes, I used the phrase “I enjoyed” about eleventy billion times here. Tough.)

(All photos taken by the author.)