Christian Horner hits back at Lewis Hamilton's claims of Max Verstappen having weaker teammates in his career

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently defended Max Verstappen from Lewis Hamilton's claims about how the Dutchman has not been teamed up with strong teammates. This is in light of how Sergio Perez and other past teammates of Verstappen have struggled alongside him.

The seven-time world champion recently pointed out how he has raced alongside strong drivers like Jenson Button, Valtteri Bottas, Nico Rosberg, etc, while Max Verstappen has not faced any strong competition from a teammate.

Speaking to the media, Lewis Hamilton said:

“In my personal opinion, all my team-mates have been stronger than the team-mates Max has had: Jenson [Button], Fernando [Alonso], George [Russell], Valtteri [Bottas], Nico [Rosberg]. I’ve had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent – and Max has not raced against anyone like that.”

In response to Lewis Hamilton's comments, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner stated that Max Verstappen has been with several kinds of teammates and has always had the upper hand on them.

However, he stressed that competing with other drivers on the grid is equally important and claimed that the Red Bull driver has clearly proven that he is capable enough to do so. Lastly, Horner playfully ended by saying how a few drivers are simply scared to be paired with Max Verstappen because of how dominant he is.

While speaking to Sky Sports, he said:

“He’s [Max] had several team-mates, obviously he’s always had the upper hand on his team-mates. But it’s not just been about competing against team-mates, it’s about competing against the rest of the field as well. And I think that Max has clearly demonstrated what he’s capable of. And indeed, some drivers might not even want to drive alongside him!”

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Christian Horner debunks Toto Wolff's claims of RB19 being developed to suit Max Verstappen

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner recently refuted Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff's comments about how RB19 is developed with only Max Verstappen in mind, which is causing Sergio Perez to struggle in the team. Horner agreed with Verstappen, who himself disagreed with the statement and poured out his own thoughts on the matter. Horner said (via Motorsport.com):

“Well, I think I completely agree with Max. It shows a total lack of understanding of how a race car and team develop, if Toto thinks that we're developing a car around a single driver. You develop a car to be as quick as you can and sometimes, quick cars are difficult cars. That's what's historically been the case. And I think that drivers adapt."

Verstappen is currently leading the championship with 339 points, while Sergio Perez is in second place with 201 points.