THE GUENTHER STEINER COLUMN: Why I’m backing Binotto in his new role and why Bearman faces a reality check

What a difference a few months make, eh? At the start of the year, it looked like Red Bull were going to continue their domination. Now, we’ve got three manufacturers separated by just 39 points in the fight for the constructors’ title.

I always felt there would be a moment where a team could make progress and challenge at the front but I didn’t expect it to be so drastic and all of a sudden see Red Bull as the third or fourth fastest team.

The Italian Grand Prix had a little bit of everything – an exciting race, the Ferrari win the Tifosi wanted and plenty of news across the weekend.

READ MORE: Filling Kick Sauber's second seat is a 'top priority' for Binotto – who are they eyeing up?

‘Mattia wanted the bicycle, now he has to pedal!’

One of those stories was Mattia Binotto’s first appearance in the paddock since taking over as boss at Sauber/Audi.

I’ve known him for a long time. He has a lot of work in front of him but that’s normal for a new entry and he’s ready for the challenge. He wanted the bicycle, now he has to pedal!

It’s in Mattia’s hands. He said it himself, this is not where Audi can be but he’s got the experience through 28 years working at Ferrari.

He knows all the structures and processes that a big team like Ferrari have got. The challenge is now to implement that at Sauber/Audi and I am confident he is the right person to move them forward.

EXCLUSIVE: Kimi Raikkonen on returning to the F1 paddock, son Robin’s karting skills and his namesake Antonelli

‘Toto wanted Kimi at Mercedes because he thinks he’s ready’

It felt like it had been coming – so it wasn’t a complete surprise to see Mercedes announce their protégé Kimi Antonelli would race for them in 2025.

He has been in the Mercedes camp for a long time and a lot of effort has been made to get him ready for F1 – including several private F1 tests and hundreds of hours in the simulator.

The opportunity came up quicker than perhaps he wished for (he skipped F3 to race in F2 this season). It’s maybe a year earlier than expected but the opportunity is there and he has to take it.

I can understand Toto Wolff’s motivation – it’s like ‘hey, let’s try to do it and throw him into the cold water and see how he swims’.

Mercedes are very good at managing expectations and will do their best to protect him from the expectation. They have trained him for a long time. He was made ready for this.

Toto could have waited another year and put Carlos Sainz in for one year – but he wanted Kimi in there because he thinks he’s ready.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘No one can ever replace Lewis’ – Antonelli on stepping into Hamilton’s shoes and his rapid rise to F1 stardom

‘Franco made a great first impression at Monza’

Rookie Franco Colapinto did an impressive job on debut for Williams as a replacement for Logan Sargeant.

James Vowles knows what makes a good young driver as part of his role when he was at Mercedes was looking after junior drivers.

He’s seen Franco progress through the Williams Driver Academy and it’s clear he sees something in him so he gave him a go to see if he’s as good as the team think he is.

Franco made a great first impression at Monza. I look at the gap to his team mate rather than the race result – and he was only 13 seconds or so behind Alex.

Alex is very good driver – so that was a great drive from Franco. If he hadn’t made that mistake in qualifying, he could have been even closer to Alex in the race.

He did a good job for his first race. He needs to keep it up now, which is as difficult as doing your first race.

PALMER: Antonelli vs Colapinto – how did the two F1 rookies measure up at Monza?

‘Ollie was the obvious choice to stand-in for Magnussen at Haas’

Kevin did a good job at Monza. When he is in a position to score something, he stands up behind the wheel. When he’s motivated, he’s a very good driver.

Now he gets some free time off with this race ban! It was highly possible that he would get a ban before the end of the year because he was so close to the penalty point limit.

Is he happy about the ban? No. Was it unexpected? No. He did too many things in the beginning of the year, which maybe he shouldn’t have done.

This one wasn’t actually that bad but if you get a penalty – you get points as well.

Ollie was the obvious choice to stand-in for him at Haas. It’s also going to be a reality check.

READ MORE: Bearman to replace banned Magnussen at Haas for Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Jumping in a Ferrari is one thing, jumping in one that isn’t doing podiums is a different thing to get your head around.

But it’s good for him to get in the car ahead of his full-time debut with the team next year. He did a great job for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia and I’m sure he’ll do a good job in Baku – and then next season.

That’s more than enough from me. If you want more nonsense from me, give me a follow on Instagram @LifeofSteiner!

Chat to you soon.

Guenther