As the Formula 1 season enters its final three-race push, it’s not just the world championship battle that’s heating up. Over at Red Bull, a game of musical chairs has well and truly begun, with Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda all vying for the highly sought-after seat alongside Max Verstappen. And, of course, former Haas team boss and current RTL pundit Guenther Steiner has weighed in.
In an exclusive interview with Germany’s RTL TV channel ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Steiner offered his no-brainer recommendation. Whether the Red Bull hierarchy sees it the same way remains to be seen.
Steiner’s pick: Hadjar. And don’t overthink it
Steiner, who has never been accused of subtlety, made his preference clear: “I would put Isack Hadjar in the second Red Bull.”
The 60-year-old delivered his recommendation with the confidence of a man who once ran Haas, a team known for its bold decisions, questionable upgrades and the occasional catastrophic weekend. But his reasoning this time was unusually measured.
According to Steiner, Hadjar has already displayed a key ingredient for survival at Red Bull: mental resilience. He recalls Australia, a moment that many believed would define the rookie’s season in the worst possible way. Hadjar parked his car on the formation lap and then dissolved into tears, a moment captured by all the cameras and witnessed by Lewis Hamilton’s father, who offered him some comfort. Red Bull advisors later dismissed the scene as “embarrassing”.
Steiner disagrees. For him, this was a coming-of-age moment.
“Hadjar quickly recovered and only got better as a result,” he said. In other words, if you can survive being made into a worldwide meme in your third race, perhaps the pressure of Red Bull won’t break you.
A warning to drivers: Opportunities Don’t Knock Twice
Steiner didn’t just advise Red Bull; he also had a few words of advice for the drivers eyeing the seat. When a chance like this appears, he said, you take it. End of discussion.
“You can’t say, ‘I don’t want to go there because others have failed. It’s certainly a challenge, but if you succeed, you’ll truly be one of the greats.’”
This is the kind of pep talk that only Günther Steiner can deliver: inspiring, blunt and with the unspoken reminder that things could always get worse.
Nevertheless, Steiner offered a cautious caveat to Red Bull: “Many have felt ready, but failed because of Max.”
Verstappen speculates about a spectacular switch
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Steiner’s warning isn’t unfounded. Over the years, Verstappen has casually dismantled teammate after teammate in a way that almost feels ritualistic. Four consecutive world championships tell the story clearly, but the side plots are equally revealing.
Take Sergio Pérez, for example. In 2024, he finished a mere 285 points behind Verstappen, an almost artistic level of defeat. The margin was so vast that Red Bull eventually ended the partnership, deciding it was time to ‘explore new strategic options’, corporate speak for ‘this is absurd, even by our standards’.
The message is clear: the second Red Bull seat is a golden ticket… except Willy Wonka is Max Verstappen, and he eats children.
Lawson’s short-lived dream and Tsunoda’s big opportunity
At the start of the season, Red Bull gave rising talent Liam Lawson his shot. Two races later, they politely escorted him to Racing Bulls, much like a hotel worker removing an overstaying guest.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda finally received the long-awaited promotion. While the Japanese driver has been spirited, energetic and occasionally furious on the team radio, the results have been less impressive. He currently trails Verstappen by 215 points, a gap which, while smaller than Pérez’s, still falls into the ‘mathematically tragic’ category.
Tsunoda’s chances of staying with the top team in 2025 appear to be evaporating faster than tyre grip in the Vegas desert.
Hamilton’s financial disaster for Ferrari
Hadjar Rising: The rookie making the strongest case
And so the stage is set for Hadjar. The 21-year-old Frenchman has delivered the kind of season that Red Bull loves to see from a potential recruit: he is quietly effective and occasionally brilliant, and he has never been publicly critical of management. He has already scored points nine times and secured his first Formula 1 podium with a third-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.
For a rookie, that’s an impressive CV, and a far more convincing pitch than Lawson’s brief appearance or Tsunoda’s ongoing difficulties.
Whether Red Bull shares Steiner’s enthusiasm is the real question. But one thing is certain: the second Red Bull seat is up for grabs, and Hadjar has put himself at the front of the queue, tears, memes and all.
Ferrari’s departure: Shock news regarding Leclerc, is a plan B being considered?
NEXT ARTICLE: Christian Horner meets F1 CEO and Zak Brown in an F1 return bid
Christian Horner has been silent since his dismissal as the CEO and team principal of the Red Bull Racing team, yet rumours persist over his return to the sport. Behind Frank Williams who was the team boss for Williams for some 43 years, Horner’s night on 20 year tenure at the helm in Milton Keynes makes him the second longest serving F1 team boss in history.
He was brutally deposed from his role at Red Bull just days after the British Grand Prix by the new Austrian director at the helm of the parent company following the death of billionaire entrepreneur Didi Mateschitz.
There have been persistent rumours over where Horner might appear and he has been heavily linked in the Italian media with the poisoned chalice role as the boss of the dysfunctional Ferrari outfit. The furore surrounding the former Red Bull boss replacing Fred Vasseur that Ferrari chairman John Elkann was forced to issue a public statement at the recent US Grand Prix giving his beleaguered team boss a vote of confidence.
Horner remains linked with Alpine
Yet Christian Horner is said to be eyeing up an opportunity to return to the sport with an equity stake in a team, something Red Bull never offered and neither would Ferrari. This has led to a number of teams being forced to deny they are in talks with Horner, most specifically the Haas F1 outfit.
Alpine remain a potential home for the former Red Bull boss given Renault’s uncertain handling of the future of the Enstone based team. Further, Flavio Briatore who has been recruited by the executives in Paris to restore the fortunes if the once title winning outfit has a deep friendship with Horner and recent sales of equity in the team suggest Horner could fulfil his ambitions with Alpine.
Christian Horner had a contract with Red Bull which ran until the conclusion of 2030 which meant his payout was significant. Some reports have suggested it was as much as $100m although others claim he agreed a discounted sum to ensure his gardening leave was just nine months.
Italian publication FunoAnalisiTecnica now claims the former Red Bull boss has recently met with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to discuss the possibility of creating a new 12th team from scratch. The last time F1 had 12 teams on the grid was in 2012 and the Concorde Agreement does provide for this scenario to be repeated…READ MORE ON THIS ARTICLE
Craig.J. Alderson is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Craig oversees newsroom operations and coordinates editorial output across the site. With a background in online sports reporting and motorsport magazine editing, he plays a key role in maintaining consistency, speed, and accuracy in TJ13’s coverage.
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