Guenther Steiner Claims Red Bull Is 'Making Bad Decisions' - 'Almost Arrogance'

Guenther Steiner criticizes Red Bull for complacency and poor planning with their RB21 concept.

Oct 22, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Haas Formula One Team engineer Guenther Steiner is interviewed before practice for the U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Guenther Steiner, the former Haas team principal, has issued a scathing critique of Red Bull Racing’s recent decisions for their 2024 Formula 1 car, the RB21. Steiner’s concerns focus on what he perceives as complacency and poor planning from Red Bull, which could undermine their performance in the current and upcoming seasons.

Last season, Red Bull dominated Formula 1 by winning 21 out of 22 races, with Max Verstappen securing his third consecutive World Championship. The triumph left an indelible mark, setting high expectations for F1 2024.

Initially, Red Bull seemed poised to repeat their success, winning four out of the first five races with one-two finishes in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. However, their dominance has waned significantly since. Verstappen, although maintaining a 62-point lead over McLaren's Lando Norris, has not celebrated a victory since the Spanish Grand Prix on June 23, marking a six-race drought.

Steiner's criticisms center on Red Bull’s current challenges and their approach to the Italian Grand Prix. He pointed out their negligence in developing a bespoke low-downforce rear wing for Monza, which he considers a glaring example of the team’s "arrogance" following their early-season success. He warned this complacency could jeopardize Red Bull’s competitiveness in F1 2025 as they continue to struggle with the RB20 concept.

Steiner explained during an appearance on the Red Flags podcast, as quoted by Planet F1:

“Next year, we need to see where the Red Bull is.

“It doesn’t seem like that they are making a lot of advances, that they will be ready for next year.

“I think they were a little bit underperforming in Monza.

“Max said they didn’t have a special Monza spec – they didn’t develop one – and I think that came out of [their early F1 2024 dominance].

“When you start to think about the Monza spec, you’re developing it at the beginning of the year.

“And they said: ‘Our car is good enough anyway, we don’t need the Monza spec, let’s put the effort into other things.’

“And then here you are. You needed a Monza spec, because everybody else brought quite a big package for it. Everybody else put a lot of effort in to bring one.

“I think Red Bull were the only ones not bringing one and this obviously was not what they wanted, but it was too late to change their mind or too late to develop something, so that is where they ended up.

“They were in a [good] position at the beginning of the year and they keep on going backwards, making bad decisions.

“No specific aero kit for Monza? It’s almost arrogance.”