Racing
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Guenther Steiner says McLaren’s win in Hungary has changed the shape of Formula 1’s lead group, with Red Bull now the “weakest link” among the four front-running teams and no longer capable of winning on outright pace.
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast after the Hungarian Grand Prix, the former Haas F1 team principal said McLaren is “back for real” after Lando Norris took pole position and victory at the Hungaroring. Steiner said the Woking team is now “seriously back in the fight with Ferrari and Mercedes,” a much stronger position than Red Bull in his view.
His harshest assessment was reserved for the Milton Keynes outfit. “I think Red Bull is now the weakest link in there,” Steiner said. “Red Bull can do it, I don't think Red Bull can win at the moment, but the ‘Max Red Bull’... call it like this because he always pulls something off.”
Steiner argued Max Verstappen’s second place in Hungary should be read as a rescue job, not proof that Red Bull has recovered. He said Verstappen “was surprised himself to finish second” and “didn't know how he did it,” before adding that the Dutchman’s strength is to take any opportunity that appears.
That reading fits Red Bull’s first half of 2026. The team has four podiums in the opening 11 rounds but no wins, making it the only squad in the top four still waiting for a victory. Verstappen is sixth in the drivers’ standings.
Steiner also pointed to Ferrari’s misleading practice pace in Budapest as a reminder that the order at the front remains unstable. “On Friday everybody thought Ferrari would win it easy, but it's Friday,” he said. Ferrari then faded to fourth with Charles Leclerc and fifth with Lewis Hamilton.
What matters most for the championship picture is Steiner’s view that McLaren has moved into the fight on genuine pace while Red Bull is relying on Verstappen to overdeliver. If that assessment holds beyond Hungary, Red Bull’s role in the 2026 title battle will shift from standard-setter to the team trying to hang on to the leading group.