Guenther Steiner ‘wanted Ralf Schumacher’s blood’ as war of words revisited

Ralf Schumacher and Guenther Steiner

Guenther Steiner revisited his “war of words” with Ralf Schumacher, uncle of Mick Schumacher, when team boss at Haas.

Steiner put the key foundations in place – such as the Dallara and Ferrari technical partnerships – in order for Haas to join the Formula 1 grid in 2016, with Steiner serving as team principal until the end of the 2023 season, after which he was replaced by Ayao Komatsu.

Guenther Steiner regrets not ‘kicking Ralf’s a**’

Haas more commonly ran drivers with experience during Steiner’s time at the helm, though the team departed from that model for 2021 when it hired the rookie duo of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Schumacher racing with the team for two seasons and suffering several heavy shunts in that time, which Steiner at points was not shy to criticise.

It led to intense media speculation over the relationship of the duo, with Mick’s uncle Ralf also weighing in, their spats not always staying within the bounds of racing discussions, with Ralf even going as far as to at one stage mock Steiner by recommending he used his new cosmetic cream, in an Instagram post which was later deleted.

Steiner claims he and Ralf have since settled their differences, though via his new book ‘Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1’, Steiner opened up on just how strained relations became between the duo, as Steiner “wanted his blood”.

“It was around this time that my well-known war of words with Mick’s uncle Ralf started,” Steiner wrote. “You remember that? It’s got more headlines than some of the races back then.

“He and I have since buried the hatchet, but I don’t mind admitting that the timing of Ralf’s outbursts could not have been worse.

“It made what had started to become a difficult relationship even worse and helped to drive a wedge between myself and Mick. With hindsight, as the principal of the team, I should have risen above this, but I did not.

“That is one of the many things I would change, as well as kicking Ralf’s a** down the paddock instead of just thinking about it! In 2022 I wanted his blood.”

Steiner’s reveal that he and Ralf have “buried the hatchet” comes after Ralf claimed in the summer of 2024 that he was no longer willing to appear on TV with Steiner as an F1 pundit going forward.

Steiner signed with German F1 broadcaster RTL to appear at select races in F1 2024.

“RTL knows my opinion, and so does Mr Steiner,” Schumacher told German publication F1-Insider. “There will be no more joint appearances on camera.

“In Bahrain, I was still able to put our dispute aside, but now that is no longer possible. I am consistent in that.”