Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has become an ambassador for the Miami Grand Prix to try and continue Formula 1’s growth in North America.
Steiner left his position at Haas over the winter after nearly a decade in charge of the team, and has since taken on duties as a pundit and analyst within F1. As an ambassador for the race in Miami, Steiner will help promote the event both in the build-up and by making appearances during the race weekend itself, to help continue the evolution of one of the three American races on the calendar.
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“It’s one of the races which I was there from the beginning and I always like things like new things that are not different to do them different, but different to do them better,” Steiner said. “Since I’m not at Haas anymore I spoke with Tom Garfinkel [Miami GP managing partner] and his team and they said, ‘Hey, can we do something together?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I will try and help you to send the message about the event,’ and also if there is some need I can advise them.
“I think Miami is one of these races that has come on the calendar I would say quite unexpectedly when it first came on three years ago. It was completely different, and I think it raised the bar for all the other races. I think we are people who forget very quickly, and what other people did is do things similarly, which I think is good for Formula 1 because it increase people’s interest having so many activations around.
“They always come up with new ideas how to do things, and every year there was investment to make it better, and I was quite intrigued by that. When the opportunity came I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, let’s do something together here and try to push it,’ because we still want all the race fans coming to races in the U.S. We have got three races now, which if you think of the population of 350 million is not something outrageous, but I think Miami is doing a very good job and they keep on growing.”
Miami Grand Prix president Tyler Epp says Steiner’s understanding of what the American market wants and the growth potential for F1 in the region made him the ideal addition to the race promotion team.
“Guenther has become a household name with F1 fans of all ages and is a perfect ambassador for our race,” Epp said. “He embodies the competitive spirit of the sport and has a clear vision of what F1 in America can be.
“Having someone with his experience, reputation and candor attached to our event will undoubtedly add to the excitement and elevate race weekend to a new level. Guenther understands the cultural relevance of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix and we’re excited that he has chosen Miami as the race he wants to help promote.”