Steiner linked with buy-out of Red Bull’s second F1 team

Gunther Steiner could be shaping up for a high profile return to Formula 1 team management.

Since losing his long-time role in charge of Haas over the winter following disagreements with team owner Gene Haas, Steiner has remained present in the F1 paddock.

His official role has been as television pundit for various broadcasters, whilst also negotiating a deal to be an ambassador for the upcoming Miami GP.

But sources close not only to 59-year-old Steiner but also Red Bull, where he once served as that team’s technical operations director, say the Italian-American is now working on a potential new F1 project.

"Sources are saying Steiner has already found an investor who wants to enter Formula 1," claims the specialist Japanese portal as-web.jp.

The team Steiner reportedly has his eye on is not Alpine, with its boss Bruno Famin insisting the struggling Renault-owned team is "absolutely not for sale".

As for Red Bull’s newly-rebranded second F1 team RB, however, Dr Helmut Marko admitted less than a week ago that "There are a lot of interested parties" interested in buying in.

"Ultimately it’s a shareholder decision," he told Osterreich newspaper. "The price is high for a team, but nothing has been decided yet."

As for Steiner, he is quoted by as-web.jp as insisting he is "not interested in running a team on the same basis as Haas".

"I’ve spent so many years in F1 that I want to do more than just participate and score points every once in a while," he revealed. "I want to really compete and try to win.

"I’m not going to come back just to run a team if I don’t have that opportunity."

The media report at as-web.jp continued: "Some believe Red Bull is investing heavily in its second team in order to finish sixth this year, increase the price, and then sell."

The report said Red Bull’s conditions for a team sale include running the new Red Bull-Ford power unit in 2026-2030, running a Red Bull junior driver, and continuing to use Red Bull’s wind tunnel.