Guenther Steiner will return to the F1 paddock sooner than expected in a new punditry role for German T🌠V.

The popular Italian left his position as Haas team ꦡprincipal at the end of a difficult 2023 season after the Amer🐼ican outfit opted against extending his contract for the new campaign.

Steiner, who gained cult staওtus in F1 thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive series, will be back in the paddock at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in his new TV role.

He has signed up to appear as a pundit at sev💝en race w🥀eekends for German broadcaster RTL.

R🌸TL confirmed the new role will start at next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

RTL programme head Inga Leschek said: “With Guenther Steiner, we have managed to get a long-time manager and Formula 1 insider directly from the paddock in front of the RTL microphones, who will enri🌃ch our live broadcasts with current insights and plain text.”

Steiner added: “Formula 1 is competition at the highest level, on the racetrack and in the pꦅ𝔉addock.

“How should the drivers’ performance be evaluated and what does that mean for the organisations behind them? I look forward to examining these processes with this strong on-ﷺair team and sharing my analyses of the racing events.”

It✅ r♌emains to be seen if Steiner will return to the F1 paddock on a full-time basis in the future.

Steiner admitted he had been “stung” by noജt having the chance to say a proper farewell at Haas, but insisted he was in no rush to return to F1. 

"If there's something interesting and wh💫ich challenges me, yes, but just looking for a job jusꦕt to stay in F1, maybe that's not what I want," he said.