Steiner jokes Verstappen should shorten Christmas break

Günther Steiner says Max Verstappen should show his best form earlier in the Formula 1 season, joking that the Red Bull driver should shorten his Christmas break. The former Haas team principal made the remarks on the Red Flags podcast.

Steiner called Verstappen the best, but said he tends to show that level again only toward the end of a season. His remarks referred to Red Bull's weaker performances at the start of the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

The comments came as Red Bull recovered in 2026: the RB22 became more competitive after updates in Azerbaijan, and Verstappen won races in Malaysia and Singapore. Steiner said the turnaround had surprised people, but did not consider Verstappen part of the title fight. At the time, Verstappen was 119 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with at most six race weekends remaining.