Five legendary Guenther Steiner quotes - and what they meant

Netflix’s Drive to Survive series helped give Steiner cult status thanks to his no-nonsense management style and brutal, expletive rants, which quickly cemented him as a fan favourite. The unapologetic 58-year-old Italian - and his massive personality - will certainly be missed. 

Here are five memorable quotes that perfectly encapsulate Steiner’s larger-than-life character…

‘Now we are a bunch of w***ers’ 

Full quote: “We just f****d this up. It doesn’t make it right, I know that, saying we f****d it up. The same mistake. Unbelievable. The two guys putting the wheels on, they were new. F***. Gene, if they finish fourth and fifth here, we look like f***ing rockstars. And now we are a bunch of w***ers. A bunch of f***ing clowns. I will do a proper investigation Gene, don’t worry. I will fix it. Trust me.” 

When and why it was said: Steiner speaking to Haas team owner Gene Haas on the phone after Haas’ double DNF at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix. 

‘He does not fok smash my door’

Full quote: "He’s not f***ing doing that to me. He does not f*** smash my door. If he doesn’t want to come back he better tell me now. He can f*** off, I told him. Both of them, f***ing hell. We have got two f***ing idiots driving for us, this is not acceptable and we will make changes. If it would be my decision now, we would sack them both.”

When and why it was said: Steiner’s angry reaction to discovering that Kevin Magnussen had punched his office door following a collision with teammate Romain Grosjean at the 2019 British Grand Prix. 

‘He’s going so f**king slow, he doesn’t need a brake’ 

Full quote: “He’s worried about overheating the brakes. Fucking hell. He’s going so fucking slow he doesn’t need a brake.”

When and why it was said: Steiner slating Mick Schumacher’s lack of pace during the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

‘Time to go porpoising’ 

Full quote: “Time to go porpoising.” 

When and why it was said: A classic Steiner one-liner delivered at the end of a tense exchange between Red Bull’s Christian Horner and Mercedes' Toto Wolff as they argued about porpoising during a meeting of team bosses. 

You’d do what to the whole paddock? 

Full quote: “Last year, for two points, I would have f****d the whole paddock.” 

When and why it was said: Steiner during an interview with F1 journalist Chris Medland that was caught by Netflix cameras. Steiner insisted he actually said ‘hugged’…