Steiner’s Red Bull alert: An unhappy Max could spell trouble

As the 2025 Formula 1 season looms, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has sounded a cautionary note to Red Bull about their star driver, Max Verstappen.

After a bruising 2024 campaign that saw the Milton Keynes squad slump to third in the Constructors’ Championship, the pressure is on the bulls to deliver a car worthy of Verstappen’s talent.

Steiner, no stranger to the highs and lows of F1 management, believes that failing to do so could see the team wrestle with the Dutchman’s blazing temperament.

Red Bull’s 2024 season was a tale of two halves. Verstappen roared out of the gate, clinching seven victories in the first ten races, echoing his hegemonic dominance of 2023.

Yet, as the RB20 grappled with balance issues, his form faltered, and McLaren’s Lando Norris emerged as a genuine threat.

Despite securing his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen’s frustration bubbled over—manifesting in fiery team radio outbursts and a community service penalty for profanity during a Singapore press conference.

With Sergio Perez axed and rookie Liam Lawson now stepping into the second seat, Red Bull’s focus rests squarely on keeping their champion content.

Verstappen’s Temperament Under Scrutiny

Speaking in a recent interview with CNN, Steiner was forthright about a potential fallout if Red Bull stumbles again, based on Verstappen’s reaction to last year’s struggles.

“I would say last year, when he started not to win, he reacted, pretty aggressively,” the Italian recalled.

“But then at some stage, I think he realised, ‘I need to be smart about this and just take home as many points as I can, even if I’m not winning a race’. So we need to see which Max we get.”

But the former Haas chief warned that a subpar car could push Verstappen to his limits.

“But for sure, if he hasn’t got a good car where he can win, he will get very difficult to manage as well, I would say, because he will be vocal about it that he’s not happy.

“And an unhappy Max is not a nice Max, as we all know.

“But he’s a very good driver, I think the best in the moment. And for sure, he will put his effort in to win races, to win the championship again, but it will not be easy, as we saw last year.”

A Blueprint for Managing Max

Steiner didn’t just highlight the risk – he offered a roadmap for navigating it. Drawing on his own experience, he explained how he’d handle Verstappen in a slump.

“To stay calm, but don’t throw the toys out of the pram after two races if it doesn’t go your way,” he said.

“‘If it is not in our way, in the beginning of the season, we need to work hard to get back where we want to be’, you know, because getting impatient and complaining doesn’t help a team, doesn’t put the team together, and obviously that is what you need when you’re not competitive.

“But first of all, I would say, ‘just let’s wait to see where we are at and then we see where we want to go, and where we can go’.”

For Steiner, maintaining team cohesion is paramount as an unhappy driver can unravel even the tightest-knit outfit.

Red Bull now faces a pivotal moment and Steiner’s warning serves as both a challenge and a reminder: deliver a title-contending machine, or brace for an “unhappy Max” whose voice could echo far beyond the radio.

As the 2025 season nears, all eyes will be on Milton Keynes to see if they can tame the beast – or unleash it.

• Read also: Verstappen positive, but RB21 ‘can’t be worse than last year’

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