Steiner: Mercedes Don't Need Verstappen, Antonelli Is Enough

Guenther Steiner, former Haas Team Principal, believes Mercedes no longer needs to chase Max Verstappen after Andrea Kimi Antonelli's impressive performances in 2026. In his view, the Brackley squad has already found their 'new Verstappen'.

Speculation about Verstappen moving to Mercedes has been rife for a long time. However, with Mercedes dominating this year while Red Bull struggles, Steiner thinks the move is no longer relevant. Verstappen, currently sixth in the standings with 109 points, trails championship leader Antonelli by 110 points, highlighting a stark performance gap.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Steiner revealed that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff can calmly let the opportunity slip. "If Max goes somewhere, obviously he wants to go somewhere which is better than Red Bull, and there are not many teams around better than Red Bull," said Steiner. "Maybe Red Bull at the moment is not where they want to be, at the forefront like they were a few years ago, but it’s still one of the big four good teams."

Baca JugaTsolov Waspadai 'Kebisingan' di Tengah Spekulasi Kursi F1 Red Bull

Steiner also noted that Ferrari's seats are filled. "At Mercedes, I think they’ve now found the next Max Verstappen. So, maybe they don’t need the real Max Verstappen at the moment," he asserted.

Despite paddock rumors linking Verstappen with McLaren, Steiner questioned such a move. He highlighted Red Bull's advantage of having their own works engine, a significant plus. "McLaren until a few races ago, it’s like, are they really better than Red Bull? Because I think Red Bull has got one advantage. They’ve got their own engine now, which is an advantage," Steiner explained.

"If you have got the works engine, I mean McLaren is doing very well having a Mercedes customer engine. But in the end, [McLaren] would be the only possibility [for Verstappen], and I don’t know if that possibility even exists," he added.

Steiner stressed that any move hinges on whether McLaren presents a clear step forward. Without a better option, Verstappen might have to stay at Red Bull despite their slump. "There was the rumour that maybe Oscar could go to Red Bull, but I think that is the biggest thing for Max: if Max goes somewhere, he wants to go to the best team around," Steiner concluded.