Günther Steiner has sharply criticised the FIA President’s comments regarding Fernando Alonso and points to another team that is in even greater need of help
Former Haas team principal Günther Steiner has sharply criticised FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem for his comments about Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin. Steiner believes it is wrong for the world motorsport governing body to interfere in the sporting situation of an individual team in order to help a driver achieve better results.
Bin Sulayem had previously stated, in light of Aston Martin’s difficult 2026 Formula 1 season, that a two-time world champion like Alonso did not deserve to have to end his career due to a lack of competitiveness. It is precisely this line of thinking that Steiner takes issue with.
“Nobody deserves to be there or anywhere else. Not just in Formula 1. You have to work to be there. You have to want to be there, but you don’t simply deserve it,” says Steiner on The Red Flags podcast. “What does ‘deserve’ even mean? In my opinion, nobody deserves anything in sport. In life, it’s a different matter. To say that Aston Martin needs to get this under control: that’s their problem. It’s not the federation’s problem.”
Steiner is responding to comments made by the FIA President, who had publicly offered his support in light of Aston Martin’s difficult season. Bin Sulayem had stated that he wanted to prevent two-time world champion Alonso from ending his Formula 1 career due to a lack of competitiveness.
Steiner: “And why isn’t the FIA helping Cadillac?”
For Steiner, however, such an attitude raises the question of equal treatment of the teams. The former Haas team principal also points to other teams that are struggling with considerable difficulties in the 2026 season. Cadillac, for example, made its Formula 1 debut this year as the eleventh team and is still waiting for its first World Championship points.
“What is Cadillac supposed to say then? ‘Oh, we deserve to be better. We need a bit of help’,” says Steiner. “Incidentally, they need a great deal of help, far more than Aston Martin, because Aston Martin can help itself – and they will help themselves.”
What bin Sulayem said about Alonso
The discussion stemmed from comments made by bin Sulayem ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. Given Aston Martin’s difficult season up to that point, the FIA President described it as “unacceptable” that Alonso was not competitive. At the same time, he held out the prospect of support to prevent the Spaniard from ending his career as a result.
“There is no way we can allow Fernando – Alonso, a great champion – to retire simply because of the circumstances,” said bin Sulayem. “That is not how one should leave the stage. He must be successful and then retire whenever he wants, not because he was forced to retire due to his performance.”
Bin Sulayem also announced his intention to speak to Alonso personally: “I will speak to him. I said to him: I could see he was very sad, and I said: ‘Fernando, I understand that. It’s unacceptable that you come to your own country and now, after having been world champion twice …’”
The FIA President then referred to measures that had already been put in place to assist the team, specifically regarding its engine situation: “We had already taken legal action on the team’s behalf back in May concerning the engine, so that it could improve. And then I said to him: ‘I’m not going to tell you what we’re going to do. Please tell me what you want, because you’re the driver. Come and see me and tell me what we should do to improve these results.’”
An FIA spokesperson subsequently clarified that bin Sulayem’s comments referred to the ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) system.
Alonso’s contract with Aston Martin expires at the end of the season. Consequently, there is speculation about his future, including a possible move to Alpine or retirement at the end of the 2026 season.
