Steiner warns Andretti over F1 bid: 'Nobody is asking them to join'

'Nobody is asking him to join'

On the podcast, hosts Brian Muller and Matt Elisofon, asked Steiner about Andretti's bid to enter F1, highlighting how the team has already prepared the infrastructure, despite being rejected. For Steiner, he pointed out the crucial mistake Andretti has already made in his move: "First up approach was public. When you want to enter something, you don't enter public. You first agree, meet, have dinner with the party, because on the end, he wants to join a club. The club doesn't want to join him. Nobody is asking him to join, so I think you need to respect that." 

Steiner knows all about attaining an F1 superlicense after he secured American team Haas a place in the sport in 2014. For Steiner, he reminded fans how much work goes into entering the sport: "You guys don't know how much groundwork I did before getting a license, before they said yes. You know, there was phone calls to everybody and their sons, their nephews, you know, just trying to make it, to explain to people what the idea was behind, and not being pushy, just explaining what I'm working, what we are working on to make it happen." 

Could Haas' success story be repeated?

In the end, the decision to let Haas into F1 proved to be successful, but no one could have predicted it as Steiner explains: "It was good as well because it was a good story we didn't fail, I didn't fail, it was successful exactly so I didn't let anybody down and you have to tell people, give the people the confidence that they are they doing your favor but you don't let them down."

"Stefano at the time was the team principal. we got the engine from Ferrari who in the end made money out of this. The American team was good for them and we delivered at the first race so in the end I didn't let anybody down so they're all happy," he added.