Guenther Steiner has urged Ferrari to “wake up” if they want to take second place in the Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship, after a difficult Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Since the summer break, the Italian marque has failed to deliver performances it expected going into the second-half of the season.
At the Dutch GP, both Ferrari drivers failed to finish the race. On home soil, at Monza, Leclerc missed out on the podium with a fourth-placed finish.
Going into the race weekend at Baku, the duo would have expected a better showing, especially after Leclerc’s P2 last year.
However, the pair of Hamilton and Leclerc could only muster an eighth and ninth-placed finish, respectively.
This has left the Scuderia third in the Constructors’ Championship, with Mercedes leapfrogging them into second place by four points, with Red Bull now only four points behind in third.
Talking about the Maranello-based squad’s performance, Steiner lambasted the team as the “loser” of the weekend on the Red Flags podcast.
“I think we have to give the loser [award] this time to Ferrari, because eighth and ninth, beaten by Racing Bulls, beaten by Williams,” he said.
Steiner highlighted how the team orders gaffe at the end of the race only compounded the team’s miseries.
“I think we have to give the loser [award] this time to Ferrari, because eighth and ninth, beaten by Racing Bulls, beaten by Williams,” he added.
“They need to wake up, because if they want to finish second in a championship, like this it’s not going to happen. So at the moment, they’re not second anymore.”
Steiner makes pick for who will finish second over Ferrari in F1 Constructors’ title
With seven races remaining this season, McLaren have made the matter of the Constructors’ title a mere formality. That said, the race for P2 has intensified since the summer break.
Mercedes currently assumes that place with Ferrari trailing the Silver Arrows by four points. Red Bull in fourth is only 18 points away from the German marque.
And while Steiner was tentative in picking a clear favorite in naming 2025’s vice-champion, the Italian suggested that Mercedes could retain its spot under certain circumstances.
“Any of the three, they are so close together, it’s too early to call it,” he clarified.
“If Mercedes has a good race and they win a race, and Kimi can score some points, they can be in front.”
Despite Verstappen’s run of two consective Grand Prix wins, Steiner believes Red Bull’s run of form will come to an end from Singapore onwards.
“But I think Red Bull will have the most struggles, we’ll get to Red Bull afterwards, but I don’t think Max will win a lot more races this year,” he concluded.
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