F1 will miss 'popular' and 'sincere' Steiner – Wolff

Jan.17 (GMM) Gunther Steiner’s sacking is a “loss” for Formula 1, according to rival team boss Toto Wolff.

Steiner has headed the small American team for its entire decade-long history, but he rose to particular popularity as his unique personality shone in the Netflix series Drive to Survive.

Team owner Gene Haas, however, ousted Steiner between Christmas and New Year, arguing that it had become “embarrassing” to have a team with a solid technical alliance with Ferrari that finishes dead last overall.

Some also think Steiner’s Netflix popularity irritated Haas.

“For Formula 1 this is a loss,” Mercedes boss Wolff told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Gunther is a personality who has become very popular and has brought a lot of benefit to the team and the brand, despite the results being disappointing.

“He is a great personality and we will miss him.”

Wolff, however, admits he disliked the way Steiner handled the demise of Mick Schumacher’s F1 race career. Schumacher is now Mercedes’ reserve driver.

“Yes, I could complain about the way he treated Mick, who is very close to me,” Wolff admits. “But what I cannot say is that Gunther is not sincere. And this doesn’t happen so often in Formula 1.”