Guenther Steiner has said what Ferrari itself seems too nervous to admit out loud: if the team wants any chance of a world championship this season, it needs to stop pretending both its drivers are equal and throw its weight behind Lewis Hamilton.
It is a blunt take, but a fair one given the numbers. After Zandvoort, Hamilton sits 59 points off championship leader Kimi Antonelli with 11 rounds left this season. Charles Leclerc is even further back. Steiner’s argument is not sentimental. It is arithmetic. And Ferrari, so far, has shown no sign of doing the sums.
Zandvoort Exposed the Indecision
The Dutch Grand Prix did Ferrari no favours in the credibility department. With Hamilton and Leclerc running contrasting strategies, the team dithered instead of deciding, and the two cars ended up costing each other time on track. Hamilton finished fourth, just ahead of his team-mate, and made no secret of his frustration that Ferrari failed to move Leclerc aside when it mattered.
Compare that to Mercedes, who swapped their drivers around at Zandvoort the moment it made strategic sense. No agonising, no fudge, just a decision. It is the kind of contrast that makes Ferrari’s reluctance to pick a lane look less like fairness and more like an inability to have an awkward conversation.
Steiner’s Case for Hamilton
Speaking on The Red Flags podcast, Steiner did not dress up his view in diplomatic language. He asked the only question that actually matters at this stage of the season: which of the two Ferrari drivers has a genuine shot at the title?
“You cannot implement team orders during a race. You need to agree them beforehand. The realistic thing is, can Charles really win the world championship? Maybe not. And who is in front? Lewis.” – Guenther Steiner
Steiner was careful to note he had not run the numbers precisely, but his logic is hard to argue with. When two team-mates are both mathematically adrift, the one closer to the front gets the backing, not the one with the nicer relationship with the fans or the longer tenure at Maranello.
“I haven’t done the calculations of how realistic it is for him to win the world championship, but if one of the two can win, it is Lewis. So, as somebody else has shown, if you want to win, it’s very tight up front there. You need to put your money on the guy who has got the better chance.” – Guenther Steiner
He went further, framing it as a simple message Ferrari needs to deliver to Leclerc rather than dance around.
“That’s the guy in front, who has got more points, and that is the only selling point to Charles. Hey buddy, your team-mate has done better up to now. Now he’s number one.” – Guenther Steiner
Can Hamilton Still Win an Eighth Title?
Steiner reckons Hamilton still has what he called a small chance of landing a record eighth world championship with Ferrari, but only if two things fall into place. Neither is entirely in Ferrari’s control.
“There need to be two things for Lewis to win the championship, the eighth one, and I think that would be a great moment for the sport, somebody winning eight championships. Kimi needs to make some mistakes. If Kimi stays clean, it will be very difficult to do, but Kimi is young and Mercedes has trouble with the car sometimes, mechanical issues.” – Guenther Steiner
That is the uncomfortable truth Ferrari has to sit with. Antonelli has been mistake-free enough to build a commanding lead, and while Mercedes has had its share of mechanical gremlins, the team has still delivered wins when it counted. Hoping for Antonelli to crumble is not a strategy, it is a prayer, and Ferrari cannot afford to rely on prayers while also refusing to organise its own house.
Steiner’s final point is the one that should sting the most inside Maranello. He believes team principal Fred Vasseur already knows what needs to happen, even if Ferrari has been reluctant to say it publicly.
“At some stage, Ferrari needs to put everything behind Lewis if they are serious about winning it because he’s in front of Charles, so he should get the support. I think Fred will be doing that and saying, ‘Hey guys, we need to put our money on one of the guys and not try to have papaya rules here.’ They need the help of Kimi and Mercedes as well. Otherwise, it will be very difficult.” – Guenther Steiner
Why Ferrari Keeps Stalling
None of this is new territory for Ferrari. The team has spent years talking about equal opportunity while quietly hoping the drivers sort out the pecking order themselves. It rarely works, and Zandvoort is only the latest reminder of why. Vasseur has already admitted Ferrari couldn’t meet every one of Hamilton’s demands since he arrived, which suggests the team is aware of the tension but still unwilling to resolve it decisively.
Formally naming a number one driver this late in a season carries its own risks. Leclerc has won a race this year and will not take kindly to being told his championship is effectively over with 11 races still to run. But Steiner’s point stands regardless of how it lands in the Ferrari garage: papaya rules, only work when both cars are genuinely in contention. Ferrari does not have that luxury. It has one driver with a mathematical pulse and another who is, by Steiner’s own reckoning, running out of road.
The Cost of Sitting on the Fence
Ferrari’s approach to Monza and beyond will say a great deal about whether it actually wants to win this championship or simply wants to avoid the awkwardness of picking a favourite. Every point lost to muddled strategy is a point handed to Antonelli, and at 59 behind with 11 races to go, Hamilton does not have points to spare. Steiner has laid out the maths in the plainest possible terms. Whether Ferrari has the nerve to act on it before the gap becomes genuinely unbridgeable is another matter entirely.
