MY LIFE IN CARS: GUENTHER STEINER

The Haas F1 team principal tells TG about his Toyota Tundra trucks and old Alfa Romeos

- GUENTHER STEINER

Where I come from in South Tyrol, which is northern Italy just on the border with Austria and in the Dolomites basically, there is no racing. My family had no history in cars or anything either, but I found motorsport through TV. So then I begged my father every year to take me to the one hillclimb that happened in our area. At the time my parents drove a Fiat 124 and I’d always get car sick driving through the mountains.

My father had a Vespa then too, and I’ve still got that now actually. I had it restored a few years ago.

After I passed my test my first car was a Fiat 500, the original of course. I had no money, so the only thing I could afford was this Fiat and it was like freedom on wheels. I did an apprenticeship as a mechanic so I could fix it up myself, but I was never into tuning or modifying cars.