Guenther Steiner has never been shy of an opinion, and this time his message for Ferrari is brutally simple: if Maranello want to be serious players in 2026, they have to pick a side – and that side is Lewis Hamilton.
The former Haas team principal believes Ferrari can no longer tiptoe around the question of hierarchy between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. For Steiner, the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort exposed exactly why.
Zandvoort flashpoint exposes Ferrari dilemma
At Zandvoort, Ferrari’s two star drivers ended up on clashing strategies. Hamilton, armed with fresher tyres and clearly stronger pace, found himself staring at the back of Leclerc’s car instead of hunting down rivals ahead. Lap after lap, the seven-time world champion sat in dirty air, his race ebbing away while the radio crackled with frustration.
Ferrari hesitated. Leclerc stayed ahead. Hamilton lost time. The tension, already simmering since the pair became team-mates, edged closer to a boil.
For Steiner, that wasn’t just a messy afternoon. It was a sign of a team that hadn’t done its homework.
“You cannot implement team orders during a race,” he said on The Red Flags Podcast. “You need to agree them beforehand.”
In other words: if you’re arguing about who should move over at 300 km/h, you’re already too late.
“Put your money on the guy with the better chance”
Steiner’s view cuts straight to the championship maths. In his eyes, the question isn’t about talent, reputation or sentiment. It’s about probability.
“The realistic thing is, can Charles really win the world championship? Maybe not. And who is in front? Lewis,” he said.
He admitted he hasn’t run the full numbers himself, but the logic is clear. One of the two Ferrari drivers looks more likely to mount a title challenge. That man, right now, is Hamilton.
“So, as somebody else has shown, if you want to win, it's very tight up front there. You need to put your money on the guy who has got the better chance,” Steiner argued.
That means a hard conversation with Leclerc, a driver Ferrari have long treated as the centrepiece of their future.
“That's the guy in front, who has got more points, and that is the only selling point to Charles,” Steiner said. “‘Hey buddy, your team-mate has done better up to now. Now he's number one.’”
Cold. Ruthless. Very much how title-winning teams have operated for decades.
Vasseur in the spotlight
If Ferrari are to make that shift, Steiner is clear about where the responsibility sits: on the shoulders of team principal Fred Vasseur.
“Fred, that is his job,” Steiner said. “I don't think John Elkann should or would get involved in it because if he gets involved in that one at that stage, he needs to run the team.”
The message is unmistakable. This isn’t a boardroom decision. It’s a racing decision. And it has to come from the pit wall, not the executive suite.
“But I think Fred is very much in control of it because Fred needs to win a world championship,” Steiner added.
That last line hangs in the air. Ferrari have the names. They have the resources. With Hamilton, they have a proven closer in championship fights. What they lack, Steiner suggests, is the courage to draw a line and live with the consequences.
At some point, Ferrari must decide: are Hamilton and Leclerc equals on paper, or is one of them the spearhead of a title charge that has eluded Maranello for far too long?
