Surviving to Drive: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

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This was SUCH an easy read. Even if you’re not heavily in to Formula 1, I still think this would be an interesting insight into how it all works and understand the struggles and challenges they face. Especially since it’s all told from the mind and eyes of Guenther Steiner. He is absolutely hilarious and just seems so genuine. The term “foking”, used frequently throughout, seems to have been partially invented as a result of the infamous “he does not fok smash my door” line from the Netflix series that has adorned many a T-shirt, but also as a way to avoid an uncomfortable question from the publisher as to why there was over 100 swear words within the book. For those afraid Steiner’s voice had been watered down though, fear not as there are plenty of s**ts to make up for it. But Steiner was on the right side of history and clearly grasped the issues surrounding his Russian driver Nikita Mazepin and his team’s title sponsor Uralkali immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Describing the decision to drop the main sponsor he says: “There was no debate. It had to happen for the good of Haas and the good of the sport.” Later he adds wryly: “Only Haas could have a Russian driver and a Russian sponsor at the start of a Russian war.” Uncompromising and searingly honest, told in Steiner's inimitable style, this is a fascinating and hugely entertaining account of the realities of running a Formula 1 team.

Voordat Steiner teambaas van Haas werd, werkte hij al jaren in de autosport. Hij werkte eerder bij o.a. Red Bull, en werkte met Niki Lauda samen bij Jaguar. De focus van Surviving to drive ligt echt op het afgelopen F1 seizoen bij Haas, en ondanks dat er wat persoonlijke notities voorbij komen, gaat het boek écht over F1. Soms – in wat mindere mate – vertelt Steiner ook over andere autoraces waarbij hij betrokken was. Steiner staat dus bekend om zijn hilarische opmerkingen in Drive tot survive, maar in zijn boek kan hij er ook wat van! Bijvoorbeeld wanneer hij Alonso omschrijft als “Hij is ouder dan god […] Hij is net een gelukspoppetje. Soms een chagrijnig exemplaar, maar alsnog een gelukspoppetje.” 😂 He also discusses the more important (but less discussed) issues in Formula 1, like which team principal he thinks would fare best in a cage match, fights with the FIA and German media, and the true cost of all those phone calls to Gene. There were parts of this book where I was crying with laughter, I couldn’t put it down. Given the year in review format, is it too desperate to hope for a new edition each year? Possibly. In Surviving to Drive, the Haas team principal takes readers inside his Formula 1 team for the entirety of the 2022 season, giving an unobstructed view of what really takes place behind the scenes. Through this unique lens, Guenther takes us on the thrilling rollercoaster of life at the heart of high stakes motor racing. Weaved in among Haas’s exploits are moments from Steiner’s life, such as how he got into motorsport in the first place, through rallying, before joining three-time F1 champion Niki Lauda at the Jaguar F1 team, plus his time in America before convincing Gene Haas to set up an F1 operation. There are some wonderful stories, from his experiences in the 1992 Dakar Rally, to he and Lauda being driven to a hotel in Japan by a man who “had an Olympic medal in foking about”.Steiner intersperses some of the more humdrum days at grands prix with tales from his rallying years—his experience of a Dakar Rally disaster is extraordinary—his bafflement at the fame that his Haas role and DTS popularity has brought, as well as how he balances family life with 10 months of the year on the road. Steiner could probably write another book alone with just stories from his disastrous time at Jaguar alongside the late Niki Lauda, who emerges as one of Steiner’s biggest inspirations. It’s the hard work of everyone on our team that has returned us to the fight in Formula 1 and I can’t thank everyone who’s a part of Haas F1 Team enough for their efforts and dedication.

People talk about football managers being under pressure. Trust me, that's nothing. Pressure is watching one of your drivers hit a barrier at 190mph and exploding before your eyes...' Steiner's no-nonsense approach, distinctive demeanor, and penchant for a profanity have earned him a legion of fans. Surviving to Drive’ provides an absorbing view into the world of Formula 1 for Haas fans and non-Haas fans alike, and the publishers must have rubbed their hands in glee when the many moments of chaos descended upon the Haas team in 2022. People talk about football managers being under pressure. Trust me, that’s nothing. Pressure is watching one of your drivers hit a barrier at 190mph and exploding before your eyes…”One cannot deny that Steiner is unapologetically himself in this book. He writes what he thinks, as controversial as things may be. And he uses the typical Steiner tone - he used the word "fok" 280 times! Penned by Guenther Steiner, it charts the 2022 season of the Haas Formula 1 Team of which Steiner sits at the helm. Fearless and candid, Surviving to Drive reads like the night-time confessions of a football manager who is fighting to stay in the Premier League. A gleeful guide to a bonkers sport from a loveable rogue insider. Melanie Reid, The Times

What sets this book apart from other F1 books is its unique format. Instead of the traditional biographies that we've seen before from technical directors and principals which span an entire career, Steiner chronicles the events and difficulties of the 2022 season. He shares the changes and challenges brought about by the lingering effects of the pandemic, as well as what it's like to be a team principal managing the impact of new FIA rules, the budget cap, and handling a Russian driver with Russian sponsors amidst the developing situation in Ukraine. Surviving to Drive—a not-so-subtle linguistic twist on Drive to Survive—is the most anticipated Formula 1 book in some time. His honesty is refreshing given that almost all who work in F1 are generally subjected to toeing a PR line – but not Steiner. And although happy to criticise others, he's certainly not above berating himself or being the butt of a joke. Lifts the lid on life as a Formula One team principal. The book gives us honest, unfiltered Steiner. The Athletic

Surviving to drive is geschreven als een soort dagboek, waarbij de berichten voornamelijk zijn geschreven op de dagen waarop vrije trainingen, kwalificaties en races plaatsvinden. Door deze opzet, de dagboekvorm, wordt er rechtstreeks tegen de lezer gepraat. Hierdoor voel je je heel erg betrokken: je leeft mee en hangt aan de lippen van Steiner. Written like a dairy, Haas F1 Team’s principal Guenther Steiner takes us on a trip through the 2022 Formula 1 season. I am not a biography type of guy, but being a Formula 1 fan since young age this was a must read for me. The dairy style writing makes it so that it doesn’t feel like a biography but rather feels like an inside view of a team principals mind.