“Imagine if there was an American Max Verstappen”: Red Bull honcho believes America needs a driver like the Dutch Lion

Red Bull principal Christian Horner recently spoke about how America needs a top F1 driver like Max Verstappen.

As the British-Austrian team joins hands with Ford for their 2026 power units, they will gradually increase their foothold in the US. However, Horner's comments had nothing to do with changing Red Bull's driver lineup, but rather how the sport's popularity will greatly benefit if a top driver from the US joins F1.

Speaking to The Post, the Red Bull team boss praised Max Verstappen and how America needs someone like the Dutchman who can be at the very top and win races and championships. Though he appreciated Logan Sargeant and was happy to have him in the sport, he feels that he won't be able to excite a lot of people since Williams will most likely not get any podiums and wins.

Horner said:

“Imagine if there was an American Max Verstappen. What we [F1] need is a young, talented, competitive American driver."

"It’s great to have him [Logan Sargeant] there and he’s a talented young guy [but] he’s going to be limited in what he can do. The problem is, if you’re finishing 14th or 15th it doesn’t really turn people on.

"I think if he was fighting at the front in a competitive car, then you’d see [something like] what happened with Fernando [Alonso] in Spain, or Checo [Perez] and the reaction in Mexico. So that’s what we need: an American driver fighting for victories and World Championships.”

Logan Sargeant is the first American driver to race in F1 since 2007. Of course, he will not be able to perform at Max Verstappen's level, but he will be cheered on by millions of American fans.

---

Max Verstappen's training was adjusted due to early start to the 2023 F1 season

During Red Bull's 2023 car launch event, several fans noticed how fit Max Verstappen looked. Though F1 drivers need to stay in shape at all times, they might take it easy during the off-season. However, the Dutchman looked fit and ready to jump in the car and race.

Dutch F1 journalist Erik van Haren reported that the two-time world champion intentionally started his training early simply because of changes in the race calendar. Van Haren told De Telegraaf:

"Quite a lot of people said that when they saw Verstappen in the picture on Friday that he looked well-trained. I spoke to some people from his camp.

"They said his training schedule has been adjusted a bit, because they used to start training at the beginning or mid-January – but now the season starts quite a bit earlier than in recent years, on March 5."

All F1 drivers have their own ways and schedules to train for the upcoming season. Some of them barely take a week's holiday before restarting their training, while others take it slow and relax for a long time.