Red Bull fighting for F1 title with only 'one-and-a-half cars' - Steiner

Guenther Steiner has dismissed the prospect of Red Bull successfully defending its F1 constructors' championship this year due to the team fighting with 'only one-and-a-half cars'.

That is regarding the form of Sergio Perez who has scored just 28 points in the last eight grands prix, compared to the 141 of team-mate Max Verstappen.

That has left Red Bull vulnerable to the challenge of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with the Woking-based team trailing by just 42 points going into the second 'half' of the season with 10 races remaining.

Discussing Red Bull's situation on a special edition of the RacingNews365 Podcast that will air on Monday, Steiner was asked which team he would put his money on to win the constructors' crown.

The former Haas team principal's response was unequivocal as he said: "I would put it on McLaren.

"They made a few mistakes in the last race [in Belgium}, small mistakes, nothing big, which made them lose a few points.

"But I think they are the most consistent, and they also have a car which has adapted itself to all the different track layouts.

"At the moment, you've some cars which are better on some track layouts, like Mercedes is very good on the fast stuff; Ferrari was very good, for example, in Monte Carlo on the slow stuff, although I expected a bit more from Ferrari in Budapest and it didn't come.

"So I think overall it is McLaren."

Verstappen "not a given" to be drivers' champion

Red Bull's performance has fluctuated since Verstappen took the chequered flag in China for his fourth victory in the opening five races.

Remarkably, the three-time F1 champion is on a run of four consecutive grands prix without a win, his longest drought since the end of 2020.

In tandem with the woeful form of Perez, who will continue with the team after the summer break following a meeting of Red Bull's senior management last Monday, Steiner feels it will be a tough ask for Red Bull to beat McLaren.

"As we've seen with Red Bull, at the moment they've got one-and-a-half cars trying to get points, not two full-time cars because otherwise they should be further ahead than they are," assessed Steiner.

"They've got good old Max fighting almost on his own. They are not as strong any more as they were at the beginning of the season, so I think McLaren has a good shot at it."

Steiner is also not ruling out Verstappen being pipped to the post in the drivers' championship.

"Max has a good advantage but there's still half the season to come, so that's not a given to me," remarked the Italian.

"I think Max will win the drivers championship but it could go to the last race that one."