‘It won’t last forever’ – Max Verstappen warned about Red Bull downfall with Lewis Hamilton example
Max Verstappen Red Bull
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has warned that, while Max Verstappen is the current dominant force in Formula 1, “all good things come to an end.”
Verstappen has won 21 of the last 23 races and has broken the record for number of victories in a calendar year in each of the last two seasons, with 15 in 2022 and 19 last season, and has already taken to the top step four times out of five in 2024.
Max Verstappen dominance warning: ‘It won’t last forever’
Formula 1 can often be characterised by eras of driver and team dominance in the sport, with the likes of McLaren and Williams holding the sport under their control in the 1980s and ’90s, before Ferrari and Michael Schumacher were the outright force in the early 2000s, and Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel won four title doubles in a row before Mercedes took charge in the turbo hybrid era.
The switch to ground effect aerodynamics has seen Red Bull surge to the top once again, particularly in Verstappen’s hands, which has left 2021 title rival and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton without a race win in 50 rounds.
Steiner made this point in comparing Verstappen’s success to Hamilton’s current barren run by his standards, but is also wary of the fact that these eras have a habit of ending abruptly.
“Red Bull and Max Verstappen are obviously doing a fantastic job right now. They are dominating,” Steiner wrote in a pre-Miami column for Formula1.com.
PlanetF1.com recommends
Red Bull RB17: The £5million hypercar that now has Adrian Newey’s full focus
Follow PlanetF1.com’s WhatsApp channel for all the F1 breaking news!
“I really respect Sergio Perez, he’s a very good driver – but he can’t get near Max right now. Max is on a different planet.
“He is already one of the greatest ever in his era, like Lewis Hamilton was a few years ago.
“When you’re on a wave like this, you have the confidence, you’re happy with life and nothing goes wrong.
“But all good things come to an end. It won’t last forever – just look at Lewis right now.
“It’s no surprise Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is interested in signing Max. Will Max leave Red Bull? He is in a good place.”
The next regulation reset in Formula 1 is coming in 2026, with the proposed power units bringing about a change in power to make the cars a 50/50 split between combustion and electric power in the hybrid engines, along with a switch to sustainable fuel.