Ever since Haas joined F1 in 2016, Guenther Steiner has led them as their team principal. In all these years, the all-American team has never won a race. On top of that, Steiner has had frequent run-ins with his drivers that often ended in their termination after serving for as long as just a season. That begs the question- who would he choose if he could have any two drivers from the current grid? And why does Lewis Hamilton, despite his 103 race wins and 7 drivers’ championships not make the cut?

Just last year, Haas let go of Mick Schumacher and brought in Nico Hulkenberg as his replacement. That was because Mick was proving to be a very costly driver for the team owing to his habit of wrecking the car too often. However, it was a far from gracious departure for Schumacher Jr. Many even believed that it would have never gotten so ugly if his father, Michael Schumacher, was around.

Guenther Steiner turns a cold shoulder toward Lewis Hamilton while picking his dream duo

Ever since the advent of Netflix’s popular docuseries, Formula 1: Drive To Survive, Steiner has become a polarizing figure among F1 fans. His unhinged, often crass comments, have time and again invited criticism. The Italian manager recently revealed his choice of favorite drivers. While doing so, he rejected Hamilton and gave a rather divisive reason for it.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Steiner told, “I think it will be controversial. But I can be open about it because they are not coming to drive for me anyway! That’s solved that problem of the controversy. I think it would be Max for sure. And either Charles [Leclerc] or George Russell.”

“I wouldn’t say Lewis,” he added. “Because he’s getting on with age but there is another one which he is very good. This is Fernando. I mean, the guy is over 40 and, man, he knows how to drive.”

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When asked why he would choose Verstappen, Steiner cited the Dutchman’s current form to be the reason.

Guenther Steiner heaps praise on Max Verstappen

Ever since his maiden world championship win in 2021, Max Verstappen has gone on a sort of rampage. While successfully defending his title last year. he broke records left, right, and center, winning 15 races during the campaign. The Red Bull maestro continued the dream run in 2023, winning 2 races out of the 3 we’ve had so far.

Lauding him for the run he is having currently, Steiner said, “I think he, in the moment, is just a driver, which talent wise and mentally wise, is just on a peak. He’s just on top of the wave, he can do anything with a car in the moment. Everything seems to be going right for him.”

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The wait for on-track action is almost over. One more day and we’ll have the practice session for the Azerbaijan GP and the qualifying for the Sprint race.