Guenther Steiner believes Max Verstappen could be the driver Ferrari needs to return to the top of Formula 1, questioning whether Lewis Hamilton has the right characteristics to transform the Maranello team into a consistent winner. However, Brian Muller has offered a contrasting assessment, arguing that Ferrari should concentrate on making the most of the seven-time world champion already in its ranks rather than looking towards another driver.
The disagreement emerged during an appearance on The Red Flags podcast, where the former Haas team principal and his collaborator discussed Ferrari’s long-term ambitions and the importance of having a driver capable of leading a championship-winning organisation.
While Steiner considers Max Verstappen’s relentless competitive mentality a potentially decisive advantage, Muller believes Ferrari’s greater concern should be whether the team is prepared to make the changes necessary to benefit from Lewis Hamilton’s experience.
Guenther Steiner questions whether Lewis Hamilton can transform Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton arrived at Ferrari in 2025 after spending 12 seasons with Mercedes, where he won six of his seven Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championships. His move to Maranello brought enormous expectations, with the British driver joining an organisation determined to end its lengthy wait for another world title.
However, his first season with the Italian team proved difficult. Although the seven-time world champion became more competitive during 2026 and secured his first Ferrari victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, questions have continued to surround the team’s overall progress.
Recent tensions involving teammate Charles Leclerc have also renewed the discussion about how Ferrari manages its drivers and whether its current approach will deliver the sustained success it is seeking.
The situation has brought additional attention to the debate over Lewis Hamilton’s influence within Ferrari, particularly as the team attempts to balance the ambitions of two highly competitive drivers.
For Guenther Steiner, however, the central question goes beyond the relationship between teammates. He believes Ferrari must consider whether Lewis Hamilton is the driver capable of taking the entire organisation back to winning ways.
The former Haas boss referred to the way Ferrari achieved some of its greatest successes by building around a leading champion, highlighting Michael Schumacher’s role during the team’s dominant period in the early 2000s.
Steiner also pointed towards Fernando Alonso’s unsuccessful attempts to secure a world championship with Ferrari. He acknowledged that strong drivers had achieved success behind the wheel but questioned whether Lewis Hamilton would be able to accomplish the wider objective of making the Italian team a consistent winner.
Why Guenther Steiner believes Max Verstappen could be Ferrari’s solution
Having raised doubts about Lewis Hamilton’s ability to lead Ferrari’s recovery, Guenther Steiner identified Max Verstappen as a driver who could potentially provide what the team needs.
His argument centred on the Red Bull driver’s mentality rather than a specific technical or sporting advantage. Steiner described Max Verstappen as an exceptionally determined competitor whose relentless and ruthless approach could prove valuable to an organisation attempting to return to the front of Formula 1.
In the former team principal’s view, those characteristics make the Dutch driver a potential solution to Ferrari’s long-standing difficulties.
The comparison with Michael Schumacher also helps explain the reasoning behind Steiner’s preference. His assessment suggests that he places particular importance on the influence a dominant, uncompromising competitor can have on the wider team, rather than evaluating a driver solely through individual results.
That does not mean Ferrari has announced any intention to pursue Max Verstappen. Steiner was expressing his opinion about the type of driver who might help the Maranello operation achieve its ambitions.
Brian Muller argues Ferrari should focus on Lewis Hamilton instead
Brian Muller, who appeared alongside Guenther Steiner on The Red Flags podcast, offered a different perspective on Ferrari’s future.
Rather than concentrating on the possibility of bringing Max Verstappen to Maranello, Muller dismissed the prospect of such a move happening in the near future. He maintained that Ferrari would not be able to sign the Red Bull driver any time soon.
For Muller, that makes the discussion about a potential replacement less important than the opportunity already available to Ferrari.
He emphasised that the Italian team currently has Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion who joined the Scuderia with the ambition of helping it return to the top of Formula 1.
Muller argued that if Ferrari has a driver with that level of experience and determination, but remains unwilling to move beyond certain established ways of working and look towards the future, the organisation faces problems considerably greater than the identity of its lead driver.
His assessment effectively shifts the focus away from Lewis Hamilton’s individual suitability and towards Ferrari’s readiness to take advantage of what the British driver can contribute.
That distinction is particularly relevant to the ongoing discussion surrounding the experience and psychological qualities Lewis Hamilton brings to Ferrari, especially in an environment where Charles Leclerc has established his own position within the team.
Ferrari faces two contrasting visions for its Formula 1 future
The disagreement between Guenther Steiner and Brian Muller highlights two different approaches to Ferrari’s championship ambitions.
Steiner believes Max Verstappen’s determination and uncompromising mentality could make him the ideal figure around whom to build a successful team. His doubts about Lewis Hamilton are rooted in the question of whether the British champion can deliver the transformation Ferrari requires.
Muller, meanwhile, believes the Scuderia should first ensure that it is doing everything possible to benefit from the qualities of the driver it has already recruited. From his perspective, bringing in another champion would not necessarily address the underlying problems if Ferrari itself is unwilling to evolve.
The debate comes after Lewis Hamilton’s improved performances in 2026, including his Spanish Grand Prix victory, but also against the backdrop of tensions within Ferrari’s current driver partnership.
Team principal Fred Vasseur has addressed those issues, explaining how Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc resolved their recent differences.
Ferrari therefore faces an important question about its future direction. One view is that a driver with Max Verstappen’s mentality could provide the decisive influence needed to restore championship success. The other is that the team already possesses an exceptionally accomplished champion and must concentrate on creating the conditions in which he can succeed.
Whether Ferrari’s answer lies in a different driver or in making better use of Lewis Hamilton’s experience remains the central point of disagreement between Guenther Steiner and Brian Muller.
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