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Former Haas team principal Günther Steiner has awarded Max Verstappen an A grade for his first half of the 2025 season, but withheld the top mark despite the Dutchman's four consecutive podiums in a Red Bull that has lost its performance edge. Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast during the summer break, Steiner ranked Lewis Hamilton higher with an A+, while reserving his only S grade for Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose six wins and dominant championship lead have defined the opening half of the year.
Verstappen secured podium finishes in each of the last four Grands Prix before the break, extracting results from machinery no longer the fastest on the grid. For most observers, that would constitute peak-level driving. Steiner disagrees, citing crashes as the reason Verstappen fell short of perfection. "That's why I don't give him an S. He gets a very strong A from me, because what he shows is actually always very good," the Italian said. His assessment reflects a broader truth about how context shapes driver evaluation: extracting podiums from a flawed car may demonstrate skill, but mistakes still matter.
Verstappen's teammate earns unexpected praise
Isack Hadjar, Verstappen's new Red Bull teammate, received a B+ for his opening months alongside the three-time world champion. Steiner noted the difficulty of the assignment and credited Hadjar for avoiding the pitfalls that consumed previous partners. "It's incredibly difficult to drive next to Verstappen, but he just takes good points. His predecessors didn't manage that. He's only two or three tenths behind Max, not half a second. Plus, he stays calm and hardly gets rattled," Steiner said.
The Frenchman's proximity to Verstappen's pace has surprised many in the paddock, given the churn of teammates Red Bull has cycled through in recent seasons. Where others wilted under the pressure of internal comparison, Hadjar has maintained consistency without the dramatic collapses that defined previous pairings. Whether that stability continues as the season progresses remains the central question of Red Bull's 2025 campaign.
Hamilton elevated after initial hesitation
Steiner initially planned to rank Lewis Hamilton level with Verstappen before upgrading the Ferrari driver to an A+ during the podcast discussion. When first assessing Hamilton, Steiner noted, "He makes mistakes." But after his co-host pointed out that several of Hamilton's penalties this year have been contentious, Steiner shifted his stance. "If you get a penalty, you've made a mistake. But does he deserve an A+? Yes, he does," he said.
Hamilton's first season at Ferrari has featured flashes of the form that carried him to seven world titles, mixed with incidents that have cost him points. Steiner's revised grade suggests he views the broader trajectory as more significant than individual errors, particularly given the adjustment period required when switching teams after more than a decade at Mercedes.
Antonelli stands alone at the top
Andrea Kimi Antonelli received the only S grade in Steiner's rankings, a choice the former team principal described as self-explanatory. The 19-year-old Mercedes driver has won six of the season's Grands Prix, leads the championship by a considerable margin, and comprehensively outperformed teammate George Russell. For Steiner, those results place Antonelli ahead of both Hamilton and Verstappen as the standout performer of the first half of 2025.
Antonelli's dominance has rewritten expectations for rookie campaigns in the modern era. Where first-year drivers are typically measured by their adaptation curve and occasional flashes of promise, the Italian has simply won races and built a title challenge. Whether Mercedes can maintain the technical advantage that has enabled his run, and whether Antonelli can sustain his form under intensifying pressure, will determine if Steiner's S grade holds through the second half of the season.
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