Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes Mercedes will silence its doubters at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, predicting that the Brackley outfit will bounce back "firing on all cylinders" despite the threat of Ferrari.
During an appearance on The Red Flags Podcast ahead of the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring, Steiner dismissed suggestions that Mercedes could be continuously outperformed by Ferrari. He argued that the Toto Wolff-led team would have been working in the background for some time, rather than waiting for another team to bring decent upgrades before reacting.
"I think Mercedes wasn't waiting for somebody to get an upgrade," the former Haas team chief explained. "They keep on working... and they are not waiting until somebody's better. So as soon as somebody gets better, they have got something in the bank to put in there. I think Mercedes is ready with some upgrades as well."
When asked to predict who his "rockstar" of the upcoming race would be, Steiner firmly backed Mercedes to reassert its authority in the championship.
"Mercedes," he said. "They will come back firing on all cylinders, not stopping out on the track, breaking down. They will be back to good old form and everybody will be back to reality after Barcelona."
The Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix was the first grand prix to not be won by Mercedes in 2026. While George Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, his teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli claimed five consecutive grand prix wins in China, Japan, Miami, Canada and Monaco.
Mercedes leads the constructors' championship with 262 points, Ferrari follows in second with 190 points and McLaren sits third with 141 points.
In the drivers' championship, Antonelli has a 41-point lead over Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, who sits in second. Russell is currently third, nine points behind Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc is fourth, 31 points behind the Briton.
