F1 News: Ralf Schumacher refusing to work with Gunther Steiner

(GMM) Ralf Schumacher (pictured) has announced that he will not appear on camera with former Haas boss Gunther Steiner.

Steiner and Schumacher, the former grand prix winner, fell out very publicly in 2022 as Steiner openly criticized his nephew Mick Schumacher – leading to the latter’s ousting as a Haas race driver.

Both Schumacher and Steiner are now contracted as pundits for the German broadcaster RTL, and they appeared on camera together at the Bahrain GP this season.

But Ralf now says he is refusing to work with Steiner anymore.

“RTL knows my opinion, and so does Mr Steiner,” the German told Sport1. “There will be no more joint appearances in front of the camera.

“In Bahrain I subordinated myself to the common cause, but now that is no longer possible. I am consistent in this regard.”

Schumacher, 48, says the tipping point was Steiner’s latest comments about Mick – with the ex-Haas chief publicly urging Alpine against considering the 25-year-old for a race seat next year.

“I can only imagine that he is a little afraid that if Mick returns to Formula 1 and suddenly drives under a team boss who believes in him and puts in a great performance, he (Steiner) will be seen in a bad light,” Ralf said.

“I’m slowly getting the feeling that that’s what he’s doing.”

Ralf Schumacher also thinks Steiner should be embarrassed about Haas’ uptick in performance this year, with Steiner’s successor Ayao Komatsu apparently doing well.

“Very well, in fact, as we’ve seen this year,” he said. “So perhaps Mr Steiner should think about what has changed to make the team better now.”