Guenther Steiner pinpoints why younger F1 drivers are thriving under 2026 regulations

Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner believes that the younger generation of drivers has adapted more quickly to the new regulations introduced for the 2026 season.

Steiner explained that the younger drivers don't have the years under their belts to develop bad habits, which he argued is also giving current championship leader Kimi Antonelli an advantage over his experienced Mercedes team-mate George Russell.

"The key factor for me is how the young drivers adapted to this," Steiner explained on the Drive to Wynn podcast. "You see all of the young drivers, they adapted better than the seasoned drivers.

"Think about it, we were all amazed but I think it has to do with the technology they just adapt better, they adapt quicker and better to new technologies because they are fresher. They don't have many bad habits yet which they have to change."

He added that growing up around more technology will have been advantageous for the younger generation of drivers.

"We also have to go back to when they first started and that era of people came in," he continued. "We all said these are the guys who grew up playing on the PlayStation, and they now adapt more to the cars with the complicated steering wheels and all that stuff. 

"This is the next iteration of those guys. These guys are already... now I call them old. They're obviously not old because I'm a lot older than them, I don't want to make them older than they actually are, but it's the next generation.

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

"Everything is evolving. And when Max [Verstappen] and his generation came in, they were called the PlayStation drivers. They can use it. And this is the next generation of drivers who can use this technology so much better because they grew up with more technology."

Antonelli became the youngest driver to lead the championship after back-to-back wins at the Chinese and Japanese Grands Prix. While Russell was the favourite heading into the season, the Briton is now under threat for the title by his team-mate. 

Steiner once again pointed to the potential bad habits that could be hindering the 28-year-old driver.

"Going into the season, for me, George was the absolute favourite, even before testing because it was George Russell's moment, but then what happened now with these cars is that Kimi has no old habits, while George has to get rid of some habits.

"He drove the old car for quite a long time. And you're not talking only about the power unit with the EV power and all that stuff, it's also that the aerodynamics are completely different.

"You need to adapt, and for [Kimi], it's much easier. He hasn't got a lot to go back to. For him, everything is new, and he doesn't have to get rid of anything. He doesn't need to put effort into losing some habits.

"He can go and drive the car while the other ones have to get away from the ground effect. The ground effect is not there anymore. And I think as a race car driver, if you have driven the ground effect cars for five years, it is not that you can change from one day to the next and say, 'Oh, this is now different. I just adapt to it.' You always fall back to some habits."