Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner will return to work in F1 as a pundit for German broadcaster RTL.

Steiner lost his job at Haas in January after eight seasons leading the American team in Formula 1, with team owner Gene Haas opting for a change with trackside engineering director Ayao Komatsu promoted to team boss.

Yet Steiner, known for his colourful language and entertaining appearances on Netflix’s Drive to Survive, has now found a new job with RTL, who broadcast F1 in Germany.

Steiner will be in the paddock for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend and will attend seven races with RTL.

The Italian-American will also work for Australian TV network Channel 10 at the Australian Grand Prix next month.

Steiner said of his new role: “Formula 1 is competition at the highest level, on the racetrack and in the paddock. How are the drivers’ performances to be assessed and what does that mean for the organisations behind them?

“I’m looking forward to examining these processes with this strong on-air team and sharing my analysis of the racing action.”

RTL programme director Inga Leschek added: “With Guenther Steiner, we have succeeded in getting a long-standing manager and Formula 1 insider directly from the paddock in front of the RTL microphones, who will enrich our live broadcasts with up-to-date insights and plain language.”

Steiner, 58, is also in line to be a producer on a new “single-camera workplace comedy” show on US broadcaster CBS, as announced last year.

The first race of the season is this Saturday, 2 March.