Guenther Steiner says winless F1 driver ‘could have been a world champion’

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There are only three world champions on the current Formula 1 grid – Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso. Hamilton, who has seven titles to his name, is the most successful driver in the sport’s history.

Verstappen may assume that moniker one day after racking up 61 wins and three titles by the age of 26. Between them, the two drivers have won each of the last seven championships.

It’s been nearly 20 years since Alonso claimed his most recent crown. The Spaniard went back-to-back with Renault in 2005 and 2006 and is holding out hope of adding to that tally, even in his 40s.

A number of drivers are widely regarded as future champions. Verstappen picked out Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, while Sebastian Vettel has backed George Russell.

Of that trio, only the Ferrari driver has had a shot so far. Helmut Marko believes Leclerc could have won the title in 2022, when he finished runner-up to Verstappen, without driving errors and strategic mishaps from his team.

Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez have 24 wins between them but none of them have come particularly close to the title. Red Bull weren’t competitive enough during Ricciardo’s time there, while Bottas and Perez haven’t been able to match their teammates.

Guenther Steiner believes Nico Hulkenberg could have won a title

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner claimed that Nico Hulkenberg had the credentials to be a champion earlier in his career. Ultimately, he never found his way into a contending car.

Steiner has experience of working with Hulkenberg, having brought him back to F1 with Haas in 2023. He’d been away for three seasons after losing his Renault seat to Esteban Ocon.

It’s the German’s third spell in the sport after he spent a year on the sidelines in 2011 following his rookie campaign with Williams. He then had two stints at Force India (2012, 2014-16) either side of a year at Sauber.

Hulkenberg famously holds the record for the most race starts (215) without a podium finish. But Giedo van der Garde is optimistic Audi can change that.

Steiner said: “I think, if he would have been a little lucky, and been in a good car when he was younger, he could have been a world champion. I think he’s very good. A lot of people rate him very highly.”

Why Max Verstappen would reject ‘annoying’ Hulkenberg as a teammate

The 36-year-old impressed at Haas this season, scoring 22 of their 27 points. With back-to-back sixth-place finishes in Austria and Britain, he’s brought the team right up to the back of RB in the constructors’ standings.

Martin Brundle also regards Hulkenberg as an elite qualifier. Kevin Magnussen has suffered as many Q1 exits (six) as his teammate has made Q3 appearances.

Ralf Schumacher believes that Hulkenberg is in a ‘completely different league’ to Perez and would be a better teammate for Verstappen. He raced alongside the Mexican during his time at Force India.

However, Peter Windsor says Verstappen doesn’t want an ‘annoying’ teammate who can challenge him for pace. Hulkenberg may have found himself in purgatory – not quite convincing enough to be a number one driver, but too fast to be a suitable number two.