Günther Steiner, the star of Drive to Survive, has made some criticisms of the FIA. His statements are now causing him problems.
Günther Steiner is a team boss of a bruise team in Formula 1. That in itself is nothing to be ashamed of. Many dream of working in the royal class at all, let alone as a head honcho. But yes, as the foreman of a team that scores points more often than not, you are not necessarily in the spotlight. Some time ago Lewis Hamilton didn’t even know who Franz Tost was, for example. This while the best man at Toro Rosso and Alpha Tauri is one of the longest-serving team bosses in F1 ever.
However, a lot has changed for Steiner after his appearances in Drive to Survive. The colorful Italian certainly appeared frequently in the first seasons. Also because the larger teams initially did not have much appetite for the Netflix show. Steiner took his chance, so to speak. He became an icon on the internet because of his many insults and squabbles with Magnussen, Grosjean, Mazepin and Schumacher.
You could say that Günther, as Wim Kieft would say, has come to believe in it a little too much. The best man now also has a book in which he does not settle so neatly with Mick Schumacher. This has already incurred the wrath of Ralf Schumacher. But now Günther also has the FIA behind him.
At the Monaco Grand Prix, the team boss may have violated articles 12.2.1.c, 12.2.1.f and 12.2.1.k of the FIA International Sporting Code. These have to do with making false allegations and bringing the sport into disrepute. So a serious issue. Although Günther will simply say that he has given his opinion honestly. It is therefore always important to see what the facts really are.
In this case, Steiner has said that Hulkenberg’s penalty for touching Sargeant in the first round was ridiculous. He would also have said that the stewards are a bunch of amateurs and that it is time for professionals to make the decisions. Well…not really a nice statement perhaps, but not shocking either, given what happened on the track.
However, the FIA calls on Günther to afford it. An interesting detail is that one of the stewards who was involved in the race in Monaco will also be on duty again this weekend. However, he is not allowed to judge the matter. After all, a basic principle of any orderly complaint handling is that the person responsible is not involved in the issue. Everyone knows that, except the RUG.
We’ll wait and see what comes of it. Probably a warning or a fine. We can’t imagine Foksmash getting a real punishment for this.
This article Günther Steiner discredited because of bold statements first appeared on Ruetir.
