Why Guenther Steiner fears F1 teams will be ‘starting to hate’ McLaren

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McLaren have won three of the last four Formula 1 Grands Prix, and four of the last six. Their journey back to the top is nearly complete.

All that remains is for the Woking outfit to win the title, and they’re firmly on course to do that. They ended Red Bull’s two-and-a-half-year reign atop the constructors’ table in Azerbaijan and they’ve already moved 41 points clear.

Unless Christian Horner’s team, or perhaps more to the point Sergio Perez, can rediscover top form in the final six races, McLaren should take the trophy fairly comfortably. It will be their first since Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ crown in 2008.

McLaren are the second-most successful team in F1 history behind Ferrari. They’ve won a combined 20 championships and 188 races.

But from the end of 2012, when they regularly contended for wins, until the mid-point of 2023, they were largely a midfield team. There were occasional podiums and even a victory for Daniel Ricciardo at Monza, but equally, there were times when they were the slowest out there.

It has been a slow and gruelling resurgence, even if that’s been disguised by their rapid ascent from ‘best of the rest’ to emphatic pace-setters in recent months. McLaren are now indisputably a force again.

McLaren’s speed will soon attract ‘hate’, Guenther Steiner warns

According to Guenther Steiner, McLaren CEO Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella are easy to ‘love’. Brown’s ‘happy’ demeanour and Stella’s ‘perfect etiquette’ have charmed neutrals.

But Steiner, who was speaking on the Red Flags Podcast, fears perceptions will now change. And it’s all because they’re threatening to become a dominant team.

Lando Norris won by over 20 seconds in both the Netherlands and Singapore. And in Hungary, Oscar Piastri led a one-two, with third-place Hamilton more than 12 seconds back.

McLaren’s friendly demeanour has allowed them to surprise their rivals, Steiner says. Brown posted a photo with Red Bull counterpart Horner hinting at a truce between the two, but that will be difficult to maintain.

“I think it switches pretty quick because now everybody thinks… what McLaren showed in Singapore is like, wow, ‘we need to start to hate them’,” said Steiner. “And I think McLaren and Zak and Andrea do a good job to be loved.

“He makes peace with Christian, so he looks good. ‘We are all friendly people, but we steal the championship’. But you don’t really notice that.

“Andrea Stella is a very humble guy, always very well. This etiquette is perfect. He doesn’t swear. I’m sure about that. And Zak is just Zak, you know, he’s always happy to be everywhere, anywhere.”

Red Bull see ‘chink in McLaren’s armour’ amid Oscar Piastri interest

McLaren’s frontrunning rivals were unhappy with the low-downforce rear wing they used to win the Azerbaijan GP. After a dialogue with the FIA, the team made modifications, potentially scuppering their ‘mini DRS’ trick.

Helmut Marko says Red Bull complained three times, albeit unofficially, before McLaren changed the design. He also wants their front wing investigated.

This points to the natural competitive tension at the head of the field. And relations could be strained further by Red Bull’s interest in Piastri.

Red Bull see a ‘chink in McLaren’s armour’ because his manager, Mark Webber, used to be their driver. They’ve maintained a close relationship, and that could be key when either Perez or Max Verstappen leaves.