Max Verstappen Proved He’s Among F1’s Greatest

Max Verstappen delivered his finest season yet, showing extraordinary consistency and skill, proving why he’s among F1’s all-time greats.

Christian Horner is impressed by Max Verstappen and his evolution as a driver. The Red Bull team principal is proud to see his driver become one of the six most decorated drivers in F1 history.

“I think he’s now part of that group. I think he truly belongs among the greats,” Horner told talkSport. “He’s in good company now with [Alain] Prost, and you know, he’s now surpassed what Ayrton Senna achieved.”

“There are very few who have gone on to achieve more—[Michael] Schumacher, [Lewis] Hamilton, and, obviously, [Juan Manuel] Fangio. He’s an incredible talent. He keeps evolving. He’s still getting better.”

“I think this year was arguably his best year because we didn’t have the best car, certainly at parts of the season—we were slightly on the back foot, and he showed incredible consistency and truly punched above his weight. So yes, it’s been an incredible season from him.”

The Briton also praised his team’s start to the season and the resilience of his squad in progressing and returning to a higher level by year’s end: “It’s a combination of factors, as these things always are, and we really started the season strongly.”

“We came out of the starting blocks and won seven of the first ten races. But the competition started catching up with us by late spring. McLaren began improving the performance of their car.”

“Then, with Ferrari and Mercedes, the summer months were tough for us because, suddenly, the developments we were bringing to the car weren’t delivering the performance we expected, and Max had to push to the limit to stay in contention and maintain control of the championship.”

“By the end of the year, we managed to improve the car’s performance and achieved some big wins. Brazil, with Max, was exceptional. And then, more recently, in Qatar.”

Horner believes that F1 is neither purely a driver-centric sport nor solely reliant on teams: “I think you always need a combination of both. Formula 1 is the greatest team sport in the world.”

“Of course, the driver is a key element. But within the team, there are around 1,000 people who all need to do their jobs and play their roles, so it’s a combination of factors.”

“But the driver is the biggest variable, and certainly, a driver like Max is capable of extracting even more from the car, the performance, and with the level of experience he has now, he reads races very well.”

“He often gives us feedback on what’s happening in the race because he’s watching it on the giant screen while driving. He manages to focus on his own race while also observing what’s going on elsewhere. It’s truly impressive.”