Former Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has urged Ferrari’s Formula 1 management to avoid premature declarations of success, suggesting that the Scuderia should stop repeatedly stating that they are “back” until they can consistently prove it on track.
Ferrari entered the 2026 Formula 1 season with renewed expectations following a difficult 2025 campaign, and early signs have shown some improvement in performance, particularly in qualifying pace and race consistency.
Charles Leclerc has already delivered two podium finishes, while Lewis Hamilton secured a strong third-place result at the Chinese Grand Prix, indicating that the team has taken a step forward compared to the previous year.
However, inconsistency remains a key issue. After the Miami Grand Prix, Ferrari once again struggled to maximise its potential. Charles Leclerc finished initially in eighth place after a 20-second penalty, while Lewis Hamilton ended the race in sixth position following a compromised race influenced by an early incident with Franco Colapinto.
At this stage of the season, Ferrari sits approximately 70 points behind Mercedes, who continue to set the benchmark in the current Formula 1 competitive order.
Guenther Steiner questions Ferrari’s messaging and consistency in F1 2026
Speaking on The Red Flags podcast, Guenther Steiner criticised the tendency within Ferrari to publicly declare progress before it has been fully consolidated in race conditions.
The former team boss explained that the Maranello team appears to be very close to becoming a genuine title contender again, but still lacks the final marginal gains required to consistently challenge at the very front of Formula 1.
Guenther Steiner stated that Ferrari often seems to reach a competitive level, only to fall back slightly at critical moments, preventing them from maintaining pressure on teams like Mercedes and Red Bull over an entire season.
He also referred indirectly to public statements made by Ferrari chairman John Elkann, noting that announcements of a return to form often come too early and are quickly undermined by subsequent race results.
According to the former Haas boss, Ferrari should focus less on public messaging and more on sustained performance, emphasising that progress in Formula 1 must be proven over multiple race weekends rather than declared after isolated strong results.
Small technical weaknesses still holding Ferrari back in 2026
Despite acknowledging Ferrari’s clear progress, Guenther Steiner highlighted that the team is still being affected by a combination of smaller technical limitations rather than one major structural flaw.
He suggested that the SF-26 race performance tends to drop off more noticeably when tyre degradation increases, a characteristic often linked to downforce efficiency and aerodynamic balance over long stints.
Guenther Steiner also pointed out that while Ferrari’s power unit is competitive in outright performance, the team appears to lose relative strength as races progress, particularly in comparison to rivals who maintain more stable race pace.
He noted that this pattern is unusual, as modern Formula 1 power units are not expected to degrade in performance over a race distance, suggesting that Ferrari’s issue is more likely linked to energy deployment, tyre management, or overall package integration.
Guenther Steiner concluded that Ferrari are much closer to the front than in previous seasons, but are still missing a crucial half-percent of performance consistency needed to fully re-establish themselves as regular championship contenders in Formula 1.
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