Formula 1 cannot return to its bad old ways - Steiner

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner is hoping Formula 1 does not revert back to its bad old ways once the new season finally starts this weekend.

While the handling of the cancelling of the Australian Grand Prix in mid-March was a low point for F1, since then much has been made of the togetherness displayed by all the stakeholders to find solutions for the short-, mid- and long-term good of the sport.

With F1 resuming in Austria this weekend, Steiner feels it would be a travesty now for the collective good to dissipate and for individual interests to again return.

Assessing the positives of the last few months, Steiner said: “There are always positives in everything.

"I would have liked to have made them under different circumstances, but I think the positives are everybody got together – the teams, F1 and the FIA, and we came up with ideas how to make the sport better going into the future.

"I hope then, in the future, we remember this time and don’t forget about it. I hope that we’re not just thinking about ourselves in three years and so on and not trying to do the best for the sport, both for the mid to long-term future.”

While the Covid-19 pandemic has naturally dominated, and F1 has attempted to cover every eventuality in a bid to get back racing, diversity and inequality have also become headline news.

With F1 playing its part following the launch of the #WeRaceAsOne initiative, Steiner is confident that as a global sport F1 can play a major role in combatting both.

"We all know there are two big social issues highlighted in the world right now, both still very much on-going and in the spotlight," added Steiner.

"One is obviously the Covid-19 pandemic, the other is racism. I think we’re in a good position to fight them both, very differently, but we will stand up and fight them. We have done this, and we will continue to do this.”

On track, Steiner insists his team is "as ready as we can be", with emotions high ahead of Friday practice at the Red Bull Ring.

"Everybody on the team is highly motivated to get back out there and go racing again," said Steiner. "They want to go out there and do their job, not just be sitting at home waiting on news as to what’s happening next.

“The emotions will be pretty high because at some stage we didn’t know if we’d be continuing or not. The world seemed to be going downhill pretty quick in March, now four months later we get to go out racing again. Emotionally, for sure, it’ll be a good moment.”

Before you go...

Vettel expecting high levels of perfection for second races in Austria and Silverstone

Hamilton: Off-track challenge this year bigger than on it

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