‘MotoGP more down to the rider than the driver in F1’ - Guenther Steiner

Guenther Steiner has revealed the reasons for joining MotoGP as the new Red Bull KTM Tech3 team owner in 2026, calling the sport “amazing” and that it deserves “an even bigger audience”.

The former Haas F1 Team Principal will take over from Hervé Poncharal, who founded the team in 1990. However, the Frenchman will remain part of the team as a consultant. 

The Tech3 racing team is the longest running independent team in MotoGP, and Steiner agreed to take over the team as part of a consortium. Steiner will become the team’s CEO, while his business partner Richard Coleman will join the team as the new team principal. 

Speaking to betting company Lottoland, Steiner said MotoGP is a sport “I’ve always liked because it’s just so exciting. The racing is incredibly close, and the talent of the riders really shines through. In MotoGP, it’s much more down to the rider than the driver in Formula One.”

KTM is without a main race win in MotoGP since the Thai Grand Prix in 2022, and to try and change that Steiner’s Tech3 team will have an unchanged rider line-up next year. That means Maverick Vinales and Enea Bastianini will stay on as teammates. 

Going into further detail about what makes MotoGP so great, Steiner said: 

“Technology-wise, the bikes are monsters - the speed they go and the speed they can go. I always loved MotoGP, but I never had the opportunity to get involved. Now that chance came, and I said, ‘Let’s try to do this.’” 

“In MotoGP, an independent team can win a championship. Last year’s world champion wasn’t a works Ducati - it was a privately-run Ducati. That shows how open and competitive it is. If you do a good job, you can win.”

“The sport is amazing, the action is there - but I think it deserves an even bigger audience. One of the opportunities I see is to bring this incredible, high-adrenaline racing to more people.” 

“It will take three to five years to build everything up and put our feet under the table. I respect MotoGP a lot. There are great people with years of experience. You can’t buy experience - it takes time.” 

Steiner compares world champion Marc Márquez to Max Verstappen

Arguably the best rider and driver of their generations, Marc Márquez and four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen, share some similarities.

One of those is their ruthless determination to win. Márquez has once again proven that he’s the rider to beat heading into 2026, after recently winning his seventh MotoGP championship. Steiner spoke about Márquez, and his long-time rival Valentino Rossi during the interview, saying: 

“Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi - for me, they’re the best. Marc is the Max Verstappen of MotoGP - he’s just got that edge, that little bit more. And Valentino… he was unique, a real character who could do anything on a bike.”

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