Guenther Steiner believes a McLaren podium at the Australian Grand Prix is not ‘realistic’

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Guenther Steiner took a bold opinion when asked about McLaren’s chances at the Australian Grand Prix.

The 2025 Formula 1 season saw McLaren dominate the headlines as Lando Norris won the title, and Oscar Piastri was involved in the championship fight.

However, heading into the 2026 season, there have been suggestions that McLaren will not be on the same level as they were in 2025.

There had been suggestions after the six-day Bahrain test that they may be the third or fourth best team on the grid, behind Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull.

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The wait for an Australian driver on the podium in Australia will continue

Whilst appearing on Triple M ahead of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, former Formula 1 Team Principal, Guenther Steiner, was asked whether Piastri will be on the podium this weekend.

Steiner believes that Australia’s wait for an Australian to feature on the podium at the Australian Grand Prix will continue, as he believes Piastri will not feature.

However, he went one step further, as he stated that neither Piastri nor Norris will be on the podium at the season opener; instead, it will be made up of drivers from Mercedes and Ferrari.

Steiner said, “I don’t think a podium for McLaren [at the Australian Grand Prix] this year is realistic. I will explain why, during the first year of the regulations, the teams which have built their own engines, like Ferrari and Mercedes, have a slight advantage.

“Because they get all their information earlier, they have more time to develop. I think McLaren will catch up pretty quickly, but at the beginning of the season I favour Mercedes and Ferrari to be on the podium.”

Did Oscar Piastri just end the debate over McLaren’s papaya rules?

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McLaren did not favour Norris over Piastri in 2025

During the 2025 season, there had been questions over whether McLaren allowed a fair fight between Norris and Piastri in the title battle.

When asked about whether he believes McLaren favoured Norris in 2025, Steiner shut down the chance that McLaren preferred Norris to Piastri.

Instead, he believes that Piastri’s inconsistency after the summer break was the true reason he lost the fight against Norris.

Steiner said, “I would not say they favour him, but it ended up in Lando’s advantage. Lando was given the opportunity, and he took it.

“Oscar had moments where he did not perform as he normally does, and there it is. So, I don’t think he was intentionally favoured, to be honest. But with Lando being more experienced, he took the opportunity.

“Before the summer break, Lando made mistakes; after the summer break, Oscar made mistakes. So, it was a little bit like this.”