We are starting this season on an ABSOLUTE HIGH. Guenther Steiner is the man we all fell in love with on Drive to Survive, and Georgie got to sit down with him and ask him all things F1 ahead of the season.
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Here at two Good Sports, we would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we record this podcast. There were innerie people.
This land was never seated, always was always will be.
And welcome.
That was a real brad Pit welcome. Yeah.
Well, I mean I always do look to Brad Pit when I really need to nail an Italian accent, you know, so I can impress people who may be on this episode. You may be Italian.
We've gone off the rails really early. That's Georgie Tuanney.
I'm abe Delmi and welcome to do good sports and sports news told differently.
Are we a little over excited? Sure?
Sure, because our first guest of the season has knocked it out of the part.
Oh my goodness, I am so thrilled to be able to bring you this chat coming up in this episode with the one the only get the Bleeper ready, Gunter Signer, the man that we all fell in love with on Drive to Survive. I got to have a wonderful chat with him, and you were going to be hearing every single second.
We mentioned that because Gunta very busy man and the window that he had I could not.
Move my calendar. Yes, I've got something that I'm recording.
Otherwise I would be there with bells, whistles and expleteds on because if anyone is my spirit animal, it's good timeh my.
God, one hundred and five to survive. Please.
Yeah, there's not a sports stock that this woman doesn't.
I'm so excited for us, and I'm so excited.
To listen to your two good sports slant on that chat. But George, some things just don't change.
Yes, that's right.
We need a good sport and a bad sport, because.
We did change it up for our first episode just to have a bit of a catch up.
But now it's back. Yep, good sport, that sport this week.
Now I have a good sport, but in classic me terms, I could phrase it as a bad sport. And the bad sport is the fact that it's me not being born a billionaire because my good sport stay with me is that Jess pergul A are the tennis player. She pulled off something that only billionaire heiresses can do. She was playing a tennis tournament a few weeks ago, won it in Austin in the States, and then they had to get to another tennis tournament. We know the WTA tour schedule. It is back to back to back to back to back. Then Tennis don't sleep.
Her dad owns one of the franchises to.
Yeah, the Buffalo franchises. So I think it's NFL and NHL.
Select just owns the bills yeh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah. So we're talking big money.
We're talking a lot of significant money, significant money. She never had to work, worked her way up to the top ten of the WTA, yeah yeah.
And this all leads us to what she was able to do to a select few of her friends who also compete with her on the tour. Dare we say her opponents. So after competing in Austin, these players had to get to California to go to and compete at Indian Wells. And in order to do that, you know, there was going to be layovers, there was going to be delays. Her opponents were going to be tired. They were going to be so tired anyone who's traveled through the States, you know how infuriating any securities at any of their airports, you got to take off your shoes. Don't get me started. But thinking about this, Jess thought, no, that's not fair. You know what I'm going to do. I'm going to be the fairy godmother of the tour. Everyone on my private jet. She flew all of her opponents with her on her private jet to the next tournament so that they could sleep and be refreshed.
I'm just going to change my good sport, badsport. Answer my bad sport forever will be Danny or Collins. Do you reckon she was on the flight? Do you reckon she was on the flight? You'll remember, of course Danny l being our controversial villain from the Australian Open, and the fact that she came out being like, I know you're booing me, but do you know what I like? Parize money and I like five star hotels, Coco and I are going to be holidaying.
Do you think the jests is gone? Oh you can get on the flight.
Oh my gosh, Well wait, the list she would have, she would have. The thing is that it.
Feels very my space.
There's only so so much room on the plane.
You want to be friends with Jess.
Oh my gosh, Oh yes, oh yes, to get on a private plane.
Come on, now, you want to be friends with Jess. You want to be on the plane.
You want to be on the plane. And this is why again it's a joint good sport bad sport, because I don't have a private jet to flys around Jelby. I'm sorry, rude. It actually is, it actually is.
I believe in you.
I believe that you can still climb the ladder. I think that we're going to get there. But I will actually have a good sport. I thought about it, and it's very timely for our interview this week. Nicole Piastre.
We already love her, but I reckon she's going to hit mainstream.
Oh really, because those who follow the sport obviously know that Oscar's mum loves to tweet about the fact she missed Pilates for this. But I do think, because Formula one is about to hit a new Richter scale in Australia with the superstar that is Oscar and what he's going to achieve this season, that I think that Nicole's going to become a household name.
I like this, I like this, and look, she gives.
Brighton energy, big Brighton energy, of which if you're not from Victoria, it's a very very lofty suburb do.
Gunta, And I maybe delve into touch upon the hopes that are Oscar Pistre. Maybe maybe.
I mean, if you don't, I'd be worried.
That's coming up.
I left you one job.
Gunt Steiner. I'm calling you a Formula one God. How does that title sit with you?
Well, that's a little bit too MUCHO, because that's that's a bit dorble the top, I would see.
Welcome to two good sports. That's what we like to do here on this podcast for sure. Welcome back to Australia, sir, because every time that you are here, everyone is so so excited to see you. Do you feel that love?
Yeah?
I feel that. That is quite the it's quite the meeting. How I'm recognized here. I went out for breakfast today and people it's just like and I'm here with my family and it's like, well everybody knows you here.
I said, yeah, No, it's like, do.
You say I'm a big deal?
Yeah? I don't think that would go down well.
But anyway, well you are here, of course for lots of commitments across the Australian Grand Prix, but for a live show as well, unfiltered, which we are going to get to. But before that, I was hoping you might be able to give us a little bit of insight into what it is like when you are preparing for one of the biggest races on the circuit at Albert Park. What are some of your favorite memories of that track?
I mean, my most favorite It was always good to memories here are always like you know, in the good old days, it was the first race. Then for a few years it wasn't the first race of the calendar anymore, but then now it's again the first race. But I think for an F one team, the first race is always because there's a new season is coming. You've got a energy, the hopes are high. Normally, when you go away from Australia, the hopes out there where they should be. You know, it's not hopes anymore, is reality setting in. But when you come here, the hopes are high. A new season. Everything is fresh and it's always cool, you know. And obviously the very everybody gets here from the from the from a phone is always great because the fans are so passionate. But my personal favorite memory is when we came here in twenty sixteen with a new team RSF one at a time, we came here, you know, a lot of people we did. We didn't have nobody gave us any credit because a lot of small teams failed before doing this, and we came here, we showed up and where you know, we were out on time. Everything worked well and then in the end we took some points away. We finished in the top ten, so it was it was pretty cool, you know. So that is my favorite memory.
Actually, it's such a high pressure job that you found yourself in. How did you go about managing everyone's expectations, whether that be owners, drivers, your own.
It.
When you work at something, if you believe it that you're doing the right thing, it's actually not this difficult to tell people what you're doing ortually managing the naysayers, because that is a lot going around in things like this. I just don't care about that, you know, I know what was done. I put the best thing I could, hoping that it is good enough. And if it isn't good enough, at least I cannot blame myself. I haven't made the biggest effort, so the best st eff forth not the biggest, the best effort. So, you know, it's one of those things you are just always almost about what you're doing and as I said, I always try to do my best, and most of the time that works.
You have such tough conversations, though, how do you prepare for them? Like what's the best way to fire someone?
There there's never a good way to file someone, but normally the best way to sit down with people and tell them why it doesn't work. And sometimes people are actually obviously nobody wants to agree, but sometimes people are even saying, yeah, okay, I understand it, and I move on. You know, you try to be fair and not doing it stupidly and just say you need to go just sit down and explain why it didn't work out. And a lot of times people come back after a while and say, actually, you were right because I ended up in a better place.
You know, it was no.
Point to hang on if it didn't work. It's better to move on it have something to which works.
Let's talk about something that seems to be working, and that is our favorite, Oscar Piastre here in this country ahead of the Grand Prix. What are your expectations for him? And why will he win?
You don't even have a doubt about it. You know why people are exactly we.
Like a lot of pressure. We like to flyle pressure onto our our athletes.
Yeah, it's just evidence you know nothing else you know in your counterman, So uh, you know, I think the McLaren from last week's testing in Bahrain looks like the best car out there quite a bit. So in the end, that's always a good position to be to be to be able realistically to say you can win. And then he's a good drival. That's the second thing, and he showed it last year because his teammate is very good as well, London Norris, but last year he beat him on a few occasions. Uh, So I think he's got he's got a good chance to win here.
What makes him a good driver? Gunta? Because I know I understand, like you know, obviously the car plays a huge role. But what makes PS three good at driving?
I think it's to two things.
First of all, the talent, which you need to have natural talent, and he showed to have that one by winning F three and F two the first season he went into.
That's normally a good uh uh.
It's good for a resume when you win that the first the first season you're in it, and and they just how he approaches I quite like his calm approach. He's surrounded or he surrounded himself with very good people, one of them being Mark Webber. You know, a little bit of a mentor because Mark has been informal one a long time. So what what I think Mark gives to Oscar is he tells them what not to do, which is as important as what to do, because Mark went toward himself, because Mark was on his own when he went to Europe, and he learned a lot, and I think he just gives them a good guidance. It's a good mentor, so Oscar can focus on what he needs to do to win, so that for him has got a good chance. I see the whole package is it's pretty It's pretty good.
Is it weird being now not totally in it? Like obviously you are still an insultiny No, far more than most. What is happening for all of these drivers and the circuit? Do you miss it?
Not really, because as you said, I'm still in it. I don't have the pressure for the to perform in racing on the week. Can obviously you know there is different pressures, but they are a lot less than going to running a team. But a little bit what you sometimes miss and when the cars go out for qualifying, you know that is that is where that's the coolest moment for me. That was always the coolest moment for me running a team, you know, because it's one lap. You can show what you can do on the race when you go to the start with all the procedure which are going on. When the race starts, you know, they're like, okay, I hope the start goes well. I cannot do anything anymore. I'm sitting here and just see how it bounds out. But qualifying is like, yeah, now we have come to that that redoling is going most and that moment maybe I miss most. But then again, after the cars are out for two or two minutes, I forget about.
I know that you would have been asked this question a million times. However, please indulge me once again. Because this swearing band that has been introduced for drivers to try and avoid them, I can only say, like cursing at very I would say apt times when they're driving. What do you make of it? Like why why do you think that this is being implemented and could it actually work?
I don't know why.
Obviously it has been said that is because you know it is cursing or swearing a good thing.
No?
Is it a bad thing? No, but it's one of the things people do. And it was said, yeah, because children, it's a bad example for children. But I don't know any five or six years old which just know the world, you know.
So not not.
Saying that it should be done, but I think in my opinion, it was made two big things out of it. It could have been handled a lot differently with not getting the attention and having a better result, because just saying you get to finds thousands of dollars fine, you know, it just throws attention to it more than the actual cursing, in my opinion, because then why did you get that fine? Or what did he say? And then again, if you want to achieve something, it's the wrong way. I think he could have gone a complete different way by, for example, just sitting the people down and telling them, hey, guys, tom it down the notch, you know, because but as you said, as a driver, when you're out there racing at two hundred miles and somebody cuts you off, you're not going saying, hey, my friend, could you do this a little bit different? You know, It's like but that is what we want in the sport. A little bit of emotions and not a little bit more emotions. Better at this, you know, and that before we watch it, otherwise we can yeap. That is part of it, you know. So if you have all everything is clean. We have machines racing, you.
Know exactly, and we have machines running teams. Because Gunta, I mean this with utmost respect, there is not a swear word that I don't think that you've encountered that you don't like you were one of the best and firiest personalities on drive to survive and.
Raise them, all of them.
Like what what? How many fines? Like let's let's talk money figures here? How many fines would you have clocked up if you were still having to, you know, deal with this.
I don't know, but I think quite a lot, because I actually was fined once five years ago. Yeah, and I didn't swear. I just called somebody an idiot, you know, which you shouldn't be doing by the way, you know, I mean, but emotions got the way with me, you know, and I got fined. I think I paid seven thousand, five hundred dollars. It was not ten thousand.
That's that's still that's still significant money. Money, It's still money. It's still money. And for someone like you, who's so accomplished that you speak, I think it's three languages, am I right?
Yeah?
What's the best language to swear? In English? Is it not Italian? Not German English?
No?
No, no, no, it's it's it's it's it's it's the perfect language for cursing.
You know, why is it? The consonants is just you know.
Like an opera needs to be in Italians where he needs to be in English.
You know, what do you think it's going to look like? Or have you yourself been a little bit discombobulated by seeing Louis Hamilton in the Ferrari Red, because I got to say, every time I see him, I'm like, oh, I think we.
All get that feeling. I don't think there's anybody out there which gets, you know, the second of like it isn't right, you know, But I think we just used him so much in silver, you know, or gray or whatever Mercedes is, you know, and all of a sudden, from silver to red, you cannot have anything us different, you know, So you just seemed there and we are just used to it, but I think it's good for the sport, you know, and he seems to like it, you know, he he's happy in the moment, you know. Obviously, as I said, when you come to Australia, the hopes are high, you know, and sometimes you go away with your hopes completely destroyed here.
You know.
That's the thing though. The sport's so great, it's all of the drama behind it that you get to live. I mean, you know, day in and day out. If we're putting a time limit on Oscar Pastre, everyone's favorite driver, when do you think it's realistic for him to win a World championship?
It could be this year, because yeah, because the car is good.
Because next year, in twenty six, there's a complete new regulation and anything could happen.
We don't know. Nobody knows.
But this year obviously, with the regulation which is in place since a while now, you know, to beat now the McLaren will be very difficult as a car, and as always say, the stars.
Needs to be aligned.
If you want to win a championship, you know, you need to be at the right place at the right time. And I think for him, the right place and the right time is now. Obviously it's got one big hurve which is his teammate, because his teammate is no fool. But you know he's got a good chance. And then and then you cannot demand to have the best car. If you've got the best car out there, you always know that they've got the teammate and you need to beat him. So but I think he's got a chance and he need to go for it now because next year could be a completely different story. The car could be fifty or six fastest car we don't know, nobody know. It could also be the fastest car again, but there's another nine teams which want to have the fastest car. So but this year, for sure, they are in there on top of it.
Right now, I want to talk about your live shows unfiltered. Does that mean we're going to get lots of swear in Gunta No a lot?
Really?
You know, I'm thinking well behaved, you know, because I'm not I'm not getting wind up, I'm not raising in the show. But there is sometimes that there is thet the odd world in there, but it's not going in to have a swear concert.
Oh imagine that though Gunta Stana swear concept that could we could, we could workshop that. I think we definitely workshop that. What can people expect when they come to see.
You, you know, just the interesting stories of in general, my career, my life, a lot of things maybe people don't know. And you know, it's entertaining as well. Are doing it with the Ghostwritle, which is doing the MCing, so he always surprises me. He comes up with some stupid stuff to ask me, you know, because he knows it pretty well by now after writing two books with me. And it's just like normally people get entertained as well. It's not like a technically we're not talking about die of pressures and wing settings, you know, we are talking about three live stuff, so normally people are pretty well.
Entertained by it.
What does your family think of this? Because I mean you you are very open. You seem such an open person. You're very chatty. Everyone loves you. I mean they always like, like, don't share that much.
I think they're used to me as well, you know, so obviously sometimes they get the coment.
Did you really need to say that? What can you do?
You know, my mouth gets ahead of myself sometimes, you know, so, but no, normally I'm I'm not I'm not disrespectful to I to be. Sometimes it happens, you know, but not intentionally so, but they are used to it now as well. But as I said, sometimes it's like, yeah, they really have to say that it happens.
What they didn't do any damage? You know.
What's what's the question that you've never been asked that you wish you were And I mean this doesn't have to be a serious question. It can be a silly question. What's something that you love to talk about that people maybe don't know that you'd love to talk about.
I don't know, because they didn't ask me any questions, so I don't know. I'm always what I'm always surprised there is you know, we open up the last fifteen minutes for Q and A from the audience. There is sometimes questions which and as you said, they've done quite a lot of this stuff, you know, in my career.
Sometimes people still.
Come up with questions where I'm like, WHOA, I've never been asked this one, you know, and which is is very It's very nice, you know, because it makes you well, it's actually a very good question because and then you really have to think how to answer it. But now there's nothing from my side what I would like to be because people come up with questions, as I said, you know.
Well on the podcast to good Sports, Gunta, do you know what a good sport is?
I think so, but explain, explain that's.
Just being someone who you know, just just just a great person really both on and off the field, if that makes sense. So in your opinion in the world of f one, who is the goodest sport right now?
Is the goodest? I think fed for service good sport?
Really yeah, you know, you know, maybe he's not as outspoken as me, but he's good sports, you know.
But I say good sport because.
He he speaks very open about them senters.
It's good fun with also some serious content. You know. That is for me is good sports.
You know. Oh I like that. I like that very very much. And just finally, who is your favorite driver now?
Now?
In George?
Yeah, now.
My favorite is a person that would say Nico compare it on very well with him. I expect the guy and I didn't know him this well before, but as a driver, I think in the moment, Max is just the best.
Oh he's very very strong and Gunta just for our just for our listeners a little bit of a behind the scenes here. What I adore about you is that your zoom chat here says gun to starn A, g Money, Have you chosen that?
No?
No, I saw that as well, and I was just thinking, I need to change that.
You know.
I've got my own podcast one hours and they do it. We do guys, and they always put some names on as one of them has the habit to put some stupid names onto me. And I just saw it now, I said, but why is that one moment? Then I remembered, I didn't know that it goes away because he came up with some names and they didn't take it off anymore, you know. And now he chose up all the time when we use the same program, you know, to do podcasts. And I just saw it before as well. I need to get that one. He just makes these things up, you know. He comes up to be some stupid stuff.
You know.
Oh well, I love it. I love it, Gunta G Money Steiner, Thank you so much for giving us so much time on Too Good Sports. All tickets are still available to some of your shows. They're stelling quickly, so make sure that you get them while you can. We'll put all of the details up where we can as well. Guntera Steiner, thank.
You so much, Thank you, Georgie, thank you.
Thank you so much, Sir. A dream, just hanging out, my best friend, stop it just my best friend.
Good, threatened, threatened, I am your best friend, already already coming in for the title. But I do very much enjoy sentiments about most things, but very much swearing.
Let's be honest, it should be allowed.
Oh can I just say tell me? If you had to adhere to the F one swearing man, you'd be as successful as Gunta, like, oh my god.
Be on the streets, on the streets of pocket. No, you think the mortgage is bad, gee Louise. But we love that.
We love the standard that we've set for interviews this season, but there are some things that just need to say the same, Georgie.
Fun fact.
I've got a little bit of a fun fact, Jemmy, Yep, yep, yep, yep. And it's something that we have spoken about on this podcast previously. It's something that you and I don't necessarily love. Like if we were again going to add to our never ending in ins and outceless for twenty twenty five it's a firm out, which is public proposals. Fun fact, it wasn't just a gigantic weekend in Vegas for canber Raiders star Xavier Savage. Yes, he did score an electric It really was ninety meters intercept right. He's I think one of the fastest men in the game. He also proposed to his love Talia in front of the Bellagio fountains. So think Ocean's eleven twelve thirteen for wherever we are in that franchise, and the fountains are going off and he's dropped to his knee and he has asked the love of his life to marry him. I believe that she said yes. And while I congratulate them, fun fact, I really don't like those.
It's convenient you mentioned the Ocean series because the only two men on Earth that could pull that off and still have people say yes, and George Clute and Bradford perhaps Matt Damon in some of the latest series.
Not for me, Buthoto.
If you're a teammate, do you head in the game? Get your head in the game. We are here for the points you're checking. You're going through customs and just checking the rings Okay.
Yeah, yeah, this is an official round one, official Round one. What I would love here is that if Xavier Savage had to call Pete of Landy's, the chairman of the Australian Rugby League, to be like, I know that the pinnacle are these two games. However, I kind of want to propose.
You did see his very sweet interview that he did on Fox afterwards and he just sort of said, look, I've got it out of the way, very Lisa.
Now I can focus on football.
I don't know about you, but that's definitely how I want my engagement too spoken about. She just got it out of the way. She said, yes, everyone's great. Now I'm here to win the points. But seriously, congratulations.
Don't get wrong. Everyone's different.
Everyone's different, and some people love that stuff. You and I not so much, not so much, not so much. I do love Peter Flandy's though, the thought of him, you know, maybe.
Like he could be a wedding in all white, in all white suit, come over please to the chapel.
It could have happened. Oh that's a dream. I mean, call us guys, Talia, Xavier if you need some wedding planning people.
Cool because we really love to.
I will be here and then are all insider by this time next year if you take me to bake it.
That is it for another episode of Two Good Sports. Thank you so much for listening and as always, please give us your feedback. What did you think about our chat with our best friend Kunta Steiner And always follow us on socials at two Good Sports podcast.
Until next day there could sport
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