Former Haas team boss Günther Steiner has refuted James Vowles’ opinion that Max Verstappen brings ‘many disadvantages’ to a team. The Williams executive told the media in Jeddah that Mercedes should think carefully before offering the Dutchman a contract. However, the four-time world champion is one of the most valued drivers on the grid; according to Steiner, any team would sign Verstappen without hesitation.
Williams team boss James Vowles, who has worked in Mercedes’ strategy team for many years, warned that the Germans should not hastily offer a contract to Verstappen. He is convinced of the current line-up with George Russell and Antonelli, although he admitted that the Dutch champion is probably faster. “Yes, Max delivers that little bit of extra performance,” Vowles told the media in Saudi Arabia. “No one will deny that he is extraordinary. What he showed in Japan was stunning. But we must not ignore the disadvantages.”
In the Red Flags podcast, Günther Steiner, former team boss of Haas, was asked about the alleged ‘disadvantages’ of Max Verstappen. “Anyone who wants to win the title can live with Max’s disadvantages,” he responded with a laugh. “Look at what he’s doing with Red Bull – that car is certainly not the fastest, but he just keeps performing. Take, for example, that controversial race in Bahrain. He (Verstappen) was absolutely not satisfied, and guess what? The next race he qualified on pole and finished second after an unjust penalty.”
Raymond Vermeulen
“Someone like Verstappen has mainly a lot of advantages,” emphasized Steiner. “He is incredibly fast – in case James Vowles still hasn’t realized that,” he added with a laugh. The only disadvantage Steiner could think of was the influence of Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen. After the disappointing results in Bahrain, he seemed to storm the team management to loudly express his concerns about the deficient RB21.
“As a team boss, you have to accept that someone like Raymond is not happy after a race like Bahrain,” Steiner explained. “But that’s of course logical. Who at Red Bull was satisfied after that race?” Verstappen finished sixth in Sakhir due to several failed pit stops and a general lack of pace. “Verstappen is not complacent,” concluded Steiner. “That is, again, an advantage. Yes, he gets on your nerves when things need to improve, but I think that only helps the team. He wins races, he is third in the championship, he manages to keep up with McLaren,” Steiner listed. “Such a guy motivates the whole team. If he were to score results like Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, the whole team would have collapsed long ago.”
