Steiner “not ashamed” about explosive Schumacher criticism in Drive to Survive

Schumacher’s struggle with Haas during 2022 received its own episode in season five of the popular series, zooming in on the German’s frequent crashes in the first half of the season and his lack of pace compared to experienced team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

The show particularly focused on Schumacher’s qualifying crash in Saudi Arabia and his shunt during the Monaco Grand Prix, before covering his confidence issues in Baku where he was well off the pace.

Schumacher’s costly shunts drew the ire of team boss Steiner, who bluntly criticised his driver in conversations with Magnussen and owner Gene Haas, which were recorded by Netflix and included in the show.

It also shows Steiner and Magnussen discussing a potential replacement for 2023.

When asked by Autosport about the fallout from the Schumacher episode, Steiner said he was “not ashamed” about his portrayal, acknowledging that Drive to Survive was heavily edited to only show the most explosive parts.

“I didn’t watch it, but I made the comments, so I remember some of the things I say,” Steiner replied.

“I think they haven’t showed everything what I said, because in the heat of the moment, I sometimes say things… and obviously Drive to Survive shows the worst, the most picky moments. So obviously, that is what the show needs to do.

“Whatever was said, was said, I cannot take that one back. It was decided not to take it out, because you have nothing to hide. I’m not ashamed of it.”

The Drive to Survive narrative ends with the redemption arc of Schumacher scoring points in July’s British Grand Prix, but then ignores the latter half of the season as Schumacher’s contract is ultimately not renewed for 2023. Haas instead recruited veteran Nico Hulkenberg to partner Magnussen.

Steiner says he has no regrets about how he is portrayed by Netflix, because he is focused on his role as team principal and not interesting in acting.

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“Put yourself in my shoes, the best is they don’t do anything,” he added. “But is that good? No. So again, you don’t get involved with your own performance, because I’m not an actor. It’s not acting.

“I did my job and I think I judge my job on what we achieve at the race track, not if Netflix looks good or bad. You know, I don’t really care about that.”