“He's just very honest”: Christian Horner weighs in on Max Verstappen criticizing Red Bull’s car at Las Vegas GP

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner supported Max Verstappen's dead honest personality as he defended the world champion's criticism of the F1 Las Vegas GP.

Verstappen has been outspoken about his dislike towards the increasing number of street circuits in the sport. He shared the same view for the Las Vegas GP that took place earlier in November.

The F1 champion had said that the events are mostly for show and not for the racing itself. While this criticism came down hard, Christian Horner explained that Verstappen is outspoken and doesn't care about being in show business.

"Max is a driver, he is not an artist or a showman, he is a racing driver. And he's just very honest, he doesn't give a damn about being famous, he just wants to race a car and go fast, everything else is bullsh*t to him."

Horner further added that Max Verstappen has changed his approach. He thinks that the Dutchman would say what he feels is right and would not change to give a "corporate answer."

"It doesn't mean Max believes they are doing anything wrong, it's just not for him, if he could remain anonymous I'm sure he would be.

"I would add that there is also a new aspect to Max's approach, you know, that he will tell you what he thinks, and will never give a corporate answer."

Amid the criticism, Max Verstappen won the inaugural F1 Las Vegas GP with a 2-second gap over Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.

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Max Verstappen looking forward to expanding Red Bull's lead over other teams

There was only one race in the entire season that a Red Bull car did not win; such was the team's domination throughout the season. Verstappen won 19 races while his teammate Sergio Perez won two more. Carlos Sainz's victory in Singapore was the only race that a non-Red Bull driver won.

Despite this, Max Verstappen is looking forward to further improvement in the car.

"It’s difficult to tell but, of course, we are also working on our car to try and make it better," F1 quoted him as saying.

He stated that the team knows the weakness of the car and will be working on it to strengthen their strengths.

"I think we know our weaknesses as well in the car and that’s what we’ll try to work on plus, of course, trying to make our strengths even stronger."

Max Verstappen won his third (consecutive) world championship in the 2023 season. Red Bull also won their second consecutive and sixth constructors' title.