Guenther Steiner picks winless F1 driver as the most underrated on the grid

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There are a number of highly-rated drivers on the Formula 1 grid who have yet to score their first victory. Lando Norris was perhaps the leader of that group until he finally broke his duck at the 110th attempt at Miami in May.

His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri is still waiting. Piastri has finished on the podium four times since he joined the grid at the start of 2023, most recently coming home second at the Austrian GP last weekend.

One driver who’s yet to spray the champagne at all is Yuki Tsunoda, but the RB star has still been one of the standouts in 2024. He’s beating eight-time victor Daniel Ricciardo at the Red Bull junior team right now, which led some to argue that he should have been a contender to replace Sergio Perez.

Alex Albon was the driver who lost his seat when Perez first arrived at Red Bull. But he’s managed to rebuild his reputation since he joined Williams in 2022.

Indeed, the Thai racer held initial talks with Mercedes over potentially replacing Lewis Hamilton. In the end, Toto Wolff looks set to promote academy driver Kimi Antonelli instead.

Guenther Steiner says Nico Hulkenberg is the most underrated driver in F1

When asked on the Red Flags Podcast to name F1’s most underrated driver, Guenther Steiner overlooked Piastri, Tsunoda and Albon. Instead, he went for Nico Hulkenberg.

The two worked together last year before Steiner left his post as team principal. He feels that the German has done enough to merit consideration for a top seat.

Hulkenberg famously holds the record for the most Grand Prix starts without a podium, let alone a win, with 214. He does have one pole position to his name, though it came 14 years ago at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 36-year-old has impressed since returning to F1 with Haas, outscoring Kevin Magnussen by 25 points to eight overall. He finished sixth in Austria – his best result yet during his third spell in the sport.

Audi have signed him to launch their project, but Steiner doesn’t feel this reflects his talent. After all, Carlos Sainz is poised to reject the new arrivals in favour of Alpine.

Asked for his pick, Steiner said: “Hulkenberg. Nobody else [other than Audi] tried to get him. Mercedes didn’t try to get him, Red Bull didn’t try to get him. Audi – Carlos Sainz doesn’t go there.”

Ralf Schumacher says Hulkenberg should have replaced Sergio Perez at Red Bull

At this late stage of his career, Hulkenberg is unlikely to come into consideration for front-running F1 seats. That moment has likely passed.

However, Sky Germany pundit Ralf Schumacher argues that he would have been an upgrade on Perez at Red Bull. He’s apparently ‘in a completely different league’ to the Mexican right now.

Martin Brundle said recently that Hulkenberg is ‘turning into a great qualifier’. Austria marked his fifth Q3 appearance of the 2024 season in a car that’s often at the tail end of the midfield.

It’s not yet clear who will partner him at Audi. There’s talk that the team could turn to a rookie like Liam Lawson or Theo Pourchaire, which would position Hulkenberg firmly as the lead driver.