Guenther Steiner calls out Ferrari for refusing to admit F1 strategy mistakes

Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Ferrari’s reluctance to acknowledge errors is actively damaging its on-track performance.

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner analysed the strategy calls made during the chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, where Ferrari decided to start on soft slick tyres despite the wet-weather conditions.

The gamble immediately backfired, sending both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tumbling down the order in the opening laps. While it was a difficult start to the grand prix, Hamilton and Leclerc recovered from the back of the grid to finish third and fourth, respectively.

Steiner argued that Ferrari’s reluctance to immediately change to intermediate tyres as McLaren did with Oscar Piastri demonstrated a hesitancy to admit fault.

“At McLaren, it’s like, ‘OK, I think we made the wrong decision, let’s fix it,'” Steiner said. “At Ferrari, it’s, ‘No, we need to show that we made the right decision, even if it’s wrong, because we cannot admit that we made the wrong decision.’

“It’s not like the present that you discuss it, it’s just in the back of your head… ‘OK, this must be the right decision, don’t change it, because otherwise I admit that it was wrong.'”

Hamilton, who started the race from second on the grid, revealed he had mixed emotions after the race. While he was happy to celebrate on the podium again, he could not help thinking about what he could have achieved if he had started on the intermediate tyres.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

“It’s a mixed emotion. On one side I’m really, really grateful to have got back to the podium,” the Briton told Sky Sports F1 after the race. “And then on the other side, obviously with the debates that we were having in the background, to then see the covers come off the car ahead and us on slicks, and the track being so tricky and dangerous at the beginning, it was definitely, yeah, my heart sank and I was kind of like, that’s the race over.
 
“But then they were like, ‘Should we stop?’ And I was like, ‘No, we’ve already made the decision, we have to live with it, and we’ll stay out here until this bloody place dries.’ And eventually it did, and then I just kept my head down, just kept pushing, just didn’t give up.
 
“I definitely didn’t expect to get back to P3. It’s crazy to think we were over a minute down. And the track took so long to dry.
 
“Normally it’s been spitting and it dries straight away because it’s usually so hot here, but unfortunately that didn’t happen for quite some time. But the team did a good job on the pitstops, and yeah, I wish we had longer and more opportunities to get further ahead. That safety car at the end was a blessing enabling me to get to the podium.”