'Machine' Verstappen 'Certainly The Best Driver In Formula One' According To Horner

Sunday, 10 December 2023 at 21:00

Updated at Monday, 11 December 2023 at 09:40

The team principal of the Red Bull Racing team, Christian Horner, described why it is "a tough gig" to be Max Verstappen's teammate.

No teammate could beat Red Bull Racing F1 driver Max Verstappen in the last six years. Multiple drivers exchanged seats alongside the Dutchman, but they all either could not keep the pace or left the team.

Drivers like Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Sergio Perez all looked slow in the Red Bull when directly compared to the triple World Champion.

The 26-year-old beat Perez by 290 points in the 2023 Drivers' Championship, breaking the record for the largest point gap to the driver in second place.

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Red Bull Racing team principal explained it's not like Verstappen would have a better car than his teammate. The Brit told Sky Sports:

"We always field the most competitive cars that we can, there's never a difference between the two cars."

The team principal pointed to the fact the team experienced something similar between the years 2010 and 2013 when Sebastian Vettel dominated the sport.

"We had an era with Sebastian [Vettel] where he was incredibly dominant, and it was difficult to be his team-mate. Now with Max, exactly the same thing."

Horner praised Verstappen so many times throughout the 2023 season it seems like he might run out of superlatives. However, it is all very well deserved for the Dutchman.

"He is a machine. He is arguably, certainly the best driver currently in Formula 1, as a three-time world champion, and to be his team-mate is incredibly tough."

It takes a psychologically strong person to be Verstappen's teammate, as Horner described it. While Perez could not always keep pace with the 26-year-old this season, he certainly showed his relentlessness. The team principal concluded by acknowledging Perez's strength.

"He's just relentless in his pace, in the way that he operates, and I think that's been one of the positives with Checo [Perez] that he's had the strength of character to be able to deal with that. We have seen it sort of break others in the past. It's a tough gig to be his team-mate."