Max Verstappen could be “very difficult to manage” if Red Bull struggles to keep up with its Formula 1 rivals as projected this year, according to Guenther Steiner.
The team struggled to meet its expectations at pre-season testing in Bahrain, with McLaren and Ferrari appearing to have the upper hand, and will more than likely be at a sizeable disadvantage when F1 arrives in Australia for the opening round next week.
Red Bull fell behind its rivals midway through last year, when, after a typical early-season period of domination, McLaren was able to make significant headway and leave the Milton Keynes-based squad floundering.
Verstappen’s string of wins early on was enough of a buffer to enable him to secure the Drivers’ Championship eventually, but he is likely to not be afforded such a luxury this time around.
And in an interview with CNN, former Haas Team Principal Steiner said the Dutchman might not be able to adapt to the disadvantageous circumstances.
“I would say last year, when he started not to win, he reacted, pretty aggressively,” he said. “But then at some stage, I think he realised, ‘I need to be smart about this and just take home as many points as I can, even if I’m not winning a race’.
“So we need to see which Max we get.
“But for sure, if he hasn’t got a good car where he can win, he will get very difficult to manage as well, I would say, because he will be vocal about it that he’s not happy. And an unhappy Max is not a nice Max, as we all know.
“But he’s a very good driver, I think the best in the moment. And for sure, he will put his effort in to win races, to win the championship again, but it will not be easy, as we saw last year.”
Verstappen urged to ‘stay calm’ in event of early-season issues
Asked how he would personally deal with Verstappen, Steiner replied: “To stay calm, but don’t throw the toys out of the pram after two races if it doesn’t go your way.
“If it is not in our way, in the beginning of the season, we need to work hard to get back where we want to be’, you know, because getting impatient and complaining doesn’t help a team, doesn’t put the team together, and obviously that is what you need when you’re not competitive.
“But first of all, I would say, ‘just let’s wait to see where we are at and then we see where we want to go, and where we can go’.”
Verstappen’s title defence is also encompassed by the knowledge that the team is facing its first year since 2006 without Adrian Newey, who has now taken up his much-anticipated role at Aston Martin.
He said that it is time to move on from conversations about how it will cope without Newey, saying he is placing his “trust” in the reshuffled technical team, now headed by Pierre Wache.
READ MORE – Max Verstappen urges Red Bull to move on from Adrian Newey
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