Max Verstappen is 'probably the highest benchmark in Formula 1,' claims Red Bull boss Christian Horner

Christian Horner praised Max Verstappen and explained how his teammate, Sergio Perez, will need to race against several other drivers from rival teams as well as catch Verstappen. Looking at the 2021 and 2022 F1 seasons, it's clear that the Dutchman is on another level in terms of pace and consistency. Although Sergio Perez seems to have settled comfortably into the Austrian-British team, Horner hints that he still needs to go a long way to match Verstappen.

Speaking at the team principals' press conference, Christian Horner praised Max Verstappen and mentioned how he has set a benchmark for all other drivers to reach. He further stated that 'Checo' is now in his third year with Red Bull and that he will improve a lot as well:

"Look, you know, Max is a hell of a competitor and he's a tough… probably the highest benchmark in Formula 1, but Checo is now in his third year in the team, he’s confident, he's comfortable and he's got to be on his A-game."

Furthermore, Horner admitted that there are several other drivers from rival teams like Ferrari, Mercedes, and even Aston Martin that Perez needs to compete against. While doing so, he also needs to catch up and race against Max Verstappen. Red Bull's team principal aptly stated:

"And not just with Max. It’s, you know, Fred’s drivers are pushing each other hard, Mercedes’ drivers are hard, we’ve got what looks like a pretty motivated veteran in a green car as well, so it’s going to be a really exciting year and I think there’s going to be some great racing ahead of us."

Although Sergio Perez is quite pleased with the RB19's performance and stability, it's safe to say that Max Verstappen will most likely stay ahead of the Mexican.

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Max Verstappen sums up his unsatisfactory FP1 and FP2 sessions in Bahrain GP

Surprisingly, Max Verstappen didn't have the best practice sessions on Friday, March 3, 2023. This was mainly due to the balance of the car, which reportedly didn't suit the Dutchman's driving style. Speaking to on-site media, including Sportskeeda, Verstappen summed up his thoughts on the FP1 and FP2 sessions, saying:

“FP1 was really bad, just couldn’t get a balance which was odd because in testing whatever we tried, maybe some things were maybe not that amazing, but not that far out, so a few things to understand. The start of FP2 was a bit difficult but even at the final run even though we were not really having a good reference and confidence up until then with the car, the lap was not too bad in the short run and also the car, we got a bit more connected."

The first practice session went quite poorly for him due to the RB19's balance, whereas he managed to connect with the car in the last stages of the second practice session.