F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Notebook: Guenther Steiner Is Back in New Role

Away from Max Verstappen’s dominance, and the Christian Horner saga, there were other goings-on through the course of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Autoweek provides its paddock notebook from Sakhir.

Steiner Back in the Paddock

Guenther Steiner departed Haas’ Formula 1 team at the start of 2024 after eight years at the helm, but the amiable Italian was back in the paddock in Bahrain. Steiner has signed up to act as a pundit at select grands prix and he was performing those duties for German broadcaster RTL in Bahrain.

And while Steiner was ambling up and down the grid offering his opinions so too was his former Haas driver, Romain Grosjean, for Canal+. It was Grosjean’s first time back in Bahrain since his fiery accident in 2020 and "The Phoenix" duly made a trip out to Turn 3 to take a look at the site of said shunt.

Lowe Aligns with Sauber

Paddy Lowe has rekindled his affiliation with Formula 1 after his Zero company partnered with Sauber. Lowe had a prolific career in Formula 1, beginning in the early 1990s with Williams, when his input was key into the revolutionary FW14B with its active suspension. Lowe moved to McLaren, where he spent two decades, before becoming a senior figure at Mercedes during its 2014-16 dominance.

A return to Williams came to an end early in 2019 when the FW42 was delivered late and proved desperately uncompetitive. Lowe’s Zero company is a leading producer of carbon-neutral synthetic fuel, made from only air and water, in what it describes as a completely fossil-free process. Plans are underway to build a commercial-scale plant that will begin production in 2026.

“Zero has implemented F1 values into everything we do, from our technical approach to our relentless pursuit of peak performance, and we look forward to discovering even greater synergy by working with Sauber,” said Lowe.

Formula 1’s 1996 World Champion, Damon Hill, is an investor in Zero.

“I believe in Paddy’s mission and his undeniable credentials—in the short time since, the progress they’ve made has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Hill.

Coulthard’s 2008 Throwback

David Coulthard provided a noisy pre-race soundtrack when he got behind the wheel of the V8-powered 2008-spec McLaren MP4-23 on Saturday. Coulthard carried out a few demonstration laps in the car in which Lewis Hamilton claimed his first world title, which was also the season in which 13-time race winner Coulthard retired from Formula 1.

FIA Pass Reminder

Formula 1 personnel were issued a curious email during the weekend—warning not to post pictures of season passes on social media.

The governing body, the FIA, highlighted that some pictures on social media channels in 2023 had been used for fraudulent applications, which were intercepted before being distributed. Those who had already posted images of their 2024 passes were kindly asked to remove them from public view.