Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen is currently the best driver in the world and needs to be given the appropriate tools for his talent to shine. Speaking to Talk Sports, the Red Bull F1 team CEO suggested that a lot of the Dutchman’s performance depended on the tools provided, comparing it to the scenario when Lewis Hamilton joined Mercedes.
Speaking about how Verstappen could be aided in future seasons, Horner said:
“In this hybrid era of the V6 turbo, if we could give Max a car. Currently he is the best driver in the world and at such a young age, he’s got so much ahead of him. So it is really down to us that we’re giving him the tools to able to realize his talent.”
Christian Horner believes having a competitive car will play a big role in providing Max Verstappen with more titles
While Christian Horner praised the Red Bull champion, he believes if the Dutchman had a similar opportunity to what Hamilton had when he joined Mercedes, the outcome would be equally phenomenal.
The Milton Keynes-based team's principal pointed out how Hamilton had only one world championship with McLaren before his switch to Mercedes. The Briton is now a seven-time world champion, with six of his titles coming in a dominant car produced by the Brackley-based outfit.
Stating Hamilton’s dominance after joining Mercedes, Horner said:
“What we got to remember is the car is a big factor in what we do. Lewis before he went to Mercedes had won one world championship. Since he has been at Mercedes he has won another six.”
Echoing Horner's words, Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly recently made a similar statement about Hamilton’s multiple titles. The Frenchman believes the Briton would not have achieved the same result in another team in the V6 era of the sport.
Meanwhile, as Max Verstappen prepares to defend his title in the upcoming season, it will be interesting to see how the Red Bull F1 team's RB18 is competitive enough for the Dutchman to outperform his rivals.