480,000 Fans Pledge Allegiance to DTS Rockstar Despite Brad Pitt’s Presence at the British Grand Prix

If there’s one person who’s as popular in Hollywood as he is in the Formula 1 paddock, so much so that he can steal the limelight from one of the most famous Hollywood stars, it’s Guenther Steiner. The Haas Team Principal rose to fame after Netflix released its documentary series on F1, Drive to Survive. And because of his comical behavior, occasional outburst, and colorful language, he quickly became a crowd favorite, especially among British F1 fans. And the 480,000 of them present in Silverstone for the British GP proved their allegiance to him by getting more pumped up by his presence rather than Brad Pitt.

Brad Pitt was at the British GP to commence filming his F1-inspired film, Apex, which Lewis Hamilton is producing. He was in the paddock, learning, spring, and filming throughout the weekend. But even the $140 million venture couldn’t distract fans from who they really came for. 

In a special episode of The Fast and the Curious Podcast recorded at the venue, Greg James, Betty Glover, and Christian Hewgill hosted Guenther Steiner at a media event on race day. And when he came out on stage, the crowd roared with excitement. Hewgill asked, “Look at all the people who have turned out for you this morning. You’ve got an engineering background. You’re an F1 team principal. Did you ever think you’d reach this level of fame, celebrity? Cause Brad Pitt’s here this weekend, but there’s more people interested in Guenther Steiner.”

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Steiner hilariously asked in return, “Who is here?” which had the crowd going crazier. It’s this quality of his, to make light of any situation, that fans love. He answered the question by saying that he never expected to become so popular solely because of his role in Drive to Survive. And even though he revealed he’s never watched it, there’s no doubt that fans will tune into every season to watch Steiner on screen. And while he is a crowd favorite in Silverstone, fans didn’t mind listening to Mick Schumacher taking a dig at him.

Mick Schumacher subtly threw shade at Guenther Steiner at the British GP

In another press event on Thursday, former Haas driver Mick Schumacher took to the stage. He drove for the American team for two seasons in 2021 and 2022, after which Steiner replaced him with his more experienced compatriot, Nico Hulkenberg. And Schumacher unintentionally threw shade at his former team boss.

Now that he is Mercedes’ reserve driver, he works closely with Toto Wolff. The interviewer asked him what it’s like to work with Wolff, and he said, “I think he’s probably the best [team principal] that I’ve worked with so far.” He quickly backed that up with, “I didn’t mean it like that,” but fans interpreted it for what it was—a dig at Guenther Steiner.

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Are you a fan of Guenther Steiner?