"If you can’t stand the heat, don’t work in the kitchen": Haas team principal on people criticizing his management style

NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix
Guenther Steiner stand on the grid prior to the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner recently explained how he does not care about getting criticized for his management methods. The Italian has been in the sport for quite some time and has learned to deal with various kinds of criticism.

For the past few months, there have been many comments about him and how he did not manage young Mick Schumacher well.

Speaking to Bild, he stated that he has been hardened over the years and does not get affected by people blaming him.

"If you know me, you have to deal with it," Steiner said. "Mick never spoke to me about it. It was also driven from the outside to put me down. I suppose I could’ve said it differently, and if people criticise that, I’m okay with that. I didn’t sleep badly because of that. Beating on me doesn’t bother me."

He added:

"I live with it, draw my conclusions, and do what I want to do. You can’t ask everyone to love you. You have to deal with that. In English, they say: If you can’t stand the heat, don’t work in the kitchen. It’s the same here, only the heat comes from somewhere else."

The Haas boss then sternly gave the analogy of reading a bad book and how people should simply leave the book if they do not like it. Similarly, he stated that he does not try to be perfect under pressure because he knows that he cannot be.

“Some people try to be perfect under pressure, but I don’t try because I know I’m not," Steiner said. "Let’s take my book. If you don’t like what I write, don’t read it. If I have a bad book, I put it down after a few pages. The time is too bad for me.”

Haas team boss rants about Nico Hulkenberg's penalty in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP

Nico Hulkenberg recently received a penalty for causing a collision with Logan Sargeant in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP. However, Haas team principal Guenther Steiner was furious and explained how he does not see any evidence that justifies the penalty. As quoted by Racing News 365, Steiner said:

"This has consequences. Lap one, we get a penalty for what I think is not a collision, then there are other people running into each other during the race and they get a black and white flag. So I think it's very inconsistent."

Steiner added:

"I still don't understand it. And I was told in the video that you can see a collision, I looked at numerous pictures and I cannot see a collision. If somebody wants to tell me there is a collision, how can you be sure?"

The Haas team boss also blamed the FIA's and race control's decisions for being slightly inconsistent and even gave examples of other drivers colliding and getting away without any penalty.

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