Guenther Steiner will return to the F1 paddock sooner than expected in a ꦚnew punditry role for Ger🥂man TV.

The popular Italian left his p📖osition as Haas team principal at the end of a difficult 2023 season after the American outfit opted against extending his contract for the new campaign.

Steiner, who🌌 gained cult status 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 a🐼t seven race weﷺekends for German broadcaster RTL.

RTL confirmed the new roℱle w⛦ill 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 inꦦ front of the RTL microphones, who will enrich our live broadcasts with current insig💦hts and plain text.”

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

“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-air team and sharing my analyses of the raci💃ng events.”

It remains to be s🍃een if Steiner will return to the F1 paddock on a full-time basis in the future.

Steiner admitted he had been “stung” by not 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 which challenges me, yes, but just look𒊎ing for a job just to stay in F1, maybe that's not what I want," he said.