'Unfiltered' - a review of Guenther Steiner's hit and miss latest F1 book

"There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. 

Guenther Steiner finds himself at something of a crossroads after being relieved of his duties as Haas F1 team principal ahead of the 2024 season. 

Sure he has popped up to do the official F1 post-qualifying and race grid interviews a handful of times and is making appearances on podcasts, including RacingNews365's, but it is not the same level of visibility he had whilst running, what was in effect, the Guenther Steiner F1 Team - a name he even makes reference to in his latest book offering: 'Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1.'

Written through 2024, you might think Steiner, now free of responsibilities, or indeed constraints, at Haas might use the book to settle some scores, especially with Gene Haas as the relationship between the pair broke down as the team slid down the pecking order. 

To be fair to Steiner, he does not do this and is fair in his recollections of dealing with Haas, including how he was ultimately told his services would no longer be required in the middle of an Italian supermarket at the deli counter.

Coming a couple of years after the first from Steiner's pen, Surviving the Drive, this book features a better and more coherent narrative than its predecessor but again falls a little short in that the main body is simply a reflection of the highs, lows and well-trodden experiences from 2016 to the end of 2023, including Kevin Magnussen's now immortal smashing of Steiner's door in 2019 and the Nikita Mazepin/Uralkali drama of early 2022. 

Perhaps where it is strongest comes in the first block, where Steiner goes into detail about the processes of just how this ex-Red Bull engineer managed to find himself a billionaire to invest into a prospective F1 team - and then present it all to the FIA without even the use of PowerPoint!
 

Guenther Steiner book review

Fortunately, the swearing, much to the FIA's no-doubt relief, although still present is notably toned down as if Steiner isn't playing to a crowd and this is a more reflective book, but the reflections actually around the racing itself are all too brief. They could be fleshed out more.

The on-track incidents are dealt with through a standard re-telling of what happened, supplemented by Haas PR quotes of the time, although his doubts, and subsequent defence of Mick Schumacher do make for interesting reading.

The key relationship in the whole Haas F1 story is between Steiner and Haas, and as mentioned above, Steiner does not truly settle any scores with Haas, despite voicing his frustration at the owner turning the development taps off and then wondering why the team was plummeting down the order.

Steiner says the first notices of discontent from Haas came in 2019, just as the team had worked its way through the Rich Energy title sponsorship disaster. The Steiner-Haas dynamic is also probably best summed up through a farcical episode involving a brand-new private jet and a tray of baked beans. 

There feels a lot more to say about the relationship between the two, and in time, perhaps in the teased autobiography, more will come out. 

Steiner is a figure with a lot to say, and there are stronger anecdotes he has to tell. Unfiltered teases some, but misses the mark. 

There are a couple of inconsistencies, in that the book claims Facebook brought YouTube, it was Google, and that Magnussen has never been higher than fifth in the drivers' championship - he was second after the 2014 Australian GP. 

Overall, for those wanting to know more about the Haas F1 story, the book, featuring a foreword by Toto Wolff, will scratch that itch, but for those of us wanting more of the juicy stories Steiner has gathered as being one of 10 team principals, you will be left wanting. 

Guenther Steiner: 'Unfiltered: My Incredible Decade in Formula 1 is published by Bantam Press and goes on sale on October 10th.