Guenther Steiner has been linked with a surprise motorsport return 18 months after splitting with Haas.

Since being axed as the American squad’s team principal, the Italian has taken up a myriad of media and punditry roles, and has been linked with a host of projects that would see him return to the F1 paddock.

Guenther Steiner in discussions over with MotoGP team investment

That has seen the 60-year-old linked with an attempt to acquire the Alpine Formula 1 team, found an all-new 12th team on the grid, in addition to an array of other positions.

Steiner has maintained throughout that he’s in no rush to make a return to the sport after a decade in charge of Haas, and that he would wait for the right opportunity.

That could come via the motorcycling world rather than a return to the F1 pit wall amid suggestions he has had discussions regarding investing in the Tech3 MotoGP team.

Tech3 operates a KTM satellite MotoGP operation, fielding Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini in the premier class.

The squad faces a somewhat uncertain future as questions have been raised around KTM’s ongoing commitment after it was placed in administration late last year.

Currently, the brand is contracted to remain in the competition until 2027 when new MotoGP regulations are set to come into effect.

Against that backdrop, Tech3 founder Herve Poncharal has confessed the operation is in the market for fresh investment.

“What’s happening is quite simple,” Poncharal said.

“I think it’s almost common knowledge now that Liberty Media will very soon be announced as the official promoter and owner of the championship.

“They own F1, as everybody knows, and there are many bridges between F1 and MotoGP.

“What they did in F1 was clearly a big step and a lot of people – and when I say people, that means also investors – are thinking the same should and could happen to MotoGP in the next few years.

“As everybody knows, my manufacturer, KTM, was recently facing financial difficulties,” he added.

“So we are working together to understand what’s going to be the future.

“From 2027 there will be a brand-new chapter with a new technical regulation, so it’s very important to secure for a company like mine, which is a MotoGP team, the future.

“Clearly, at the moment I have a super good deal but in case that organisation cannot be the same from ’27 to ’31, I need to prepare what you can call a Plan B.”

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It’s understood Steiner is one of the potential investors with whom Poncharal is speaking.

Steiner led Haas’ entry into F1 in 2016, adopting a unique business model that saw it buy in what it could via a technical relationship with Ferrari.

Entering the sport at a time when teams were changing hands for as little as £1 (plus debt), the value of F1 teams has since soared into the billions, for most, and is continuing to climb.

According to Sportico, Haas was valued at $710 million in 2023, with that figure rising to $1.04 billion last year.

Getting in on the ground floor with a MotoGP team could therefore be a prudent move for Steiner, though Poncharal noted he’s not the only voice in the conversation.

“Right now I am listening to the proposal,” Ponchaval said of Steiner.

“It could be to come as a shareholder, as a partner, but it could also be to buy the whole team.

“But what I am pushing for is to secure the possibility to be alive and kicking ’27-’31, with, I hope, the Tech3 name, with my base, my team, and different investors. Just to make things safe.

“It’s a big choice and a very important one,” he added.

“I think if we open our capital, or if we decide to eventually sell, it should be by the end of ’25, because clearly ’26 should be a transition year to be fully ready for ’27.

“From ’27 the whole paddock will have to move up, to change, and you need to be ready.

“Doesn’t matter what’s going to happen, I will be here in ’26 and beyond to do the transition, I will have a role, this is my wish, and the wish of the potential new partners, and I would say the wish of my best friend [Dorna chief] Carmelo Ezpeleta.”

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