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Steiner assesses Red Bull and Verstappen: 'That's their biggest challenge'
- Ludo van Denderen
Four times in a row Max Verstappen managed to become the drivers' champion in Formula 1, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion that a fifth title will follow for the Dutchman in 2025. Judging purely on the form in the second part of the F1 season in '24, many changes are needed to make Red Bull the dominant team of yesteryear in the sport once again. Guenther Steiner, former Haas F1 team boss, therefore sees a big challenge for the Austrians.
As Steiner was asked by GPblog during an exclusive interview about the main challenge for Red Bull, the Italian was extremely adamant: "To find their way again. They lost their way a little bit last year, I would say. It was not seen this much because Max bailed them out with the win in Brazil, with the win of the World Championship."
According to Steiner, Red Bull looked better than the team they actually were: "They were not as good as they finished, while on the other side, I think McLaren were better than they looked like. They didn't get everything out of it, while Red Bull with Max, they got out more than they had."
McLaren the example for Red Bull?
Getting back pace on track is easier said than done. Take Mercedes, for example, who have been trying for years to become competitive at the front of the grid again. But Steiner says: "But look at McLaren. They figured it out pretty quick, so we don't have to see always just the negative.
"The normal thing is, it takes time to get out of it. But McLaren, they did it in months. Because when they started at 23, they were nowhere. And then within 23, they got better. So it is possible to do. And we don't have to forget last year. End of last year, everybody was very close together. So you don't need half a second, you need two tenths and you're going from P4 to winning," said the Italian.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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