Horner: ‘Max uncomfortable with the plaudits given to him, but deserves it'

'Deserves all the credit'

Horner was very proud of Verstappen after his 44th race victory, and his ninth one in a row. "He’s a driver at one with himself and at one with the car. Total trust and confidence in the team. What we are witnessing is a sportsman at the top of his game. It’s a joy to work with," the Briton told Sky Sports following the race.

"Max is a modest guy. Sometimes Max is uncomfortable with the plaudits given to him but he deserves all the credit in the world for the way he is driving at the moment," he added about Verstappen.

Horner also explained what has happened to the team after 'only' finishing in P2 on Saturday.  "What we compromised yesterday, we benefitted today with a great race car. All we’ve done with the car was put fuel in it overnight. We knew it would be hotter today. His engineering team did such a great job of giving both drivers a product to produce that kind of race."

'Great race' by Perez

"He drove a great race today. His recovery and overtaking was brave. His pace was fast. The way he made the places, the strategy that he had, he was on fire today,” said Horner praising Perez, who got the last position on the podium today. “Even Nico [Rosberg] would have to agree with that," he laughed. 

"I think he will continue his form, a race like that gives you huge amount of confidence. I think that was a statement drive today to say 'don’t write me off,'" the Briton concluded.

Red Bull’s new record

Horner was very satisfied with breaking McLaren’s long-standing record. "As a young kid, I remember watching McLaren of Senna and Prost achieve that incredible feat. To think we’ve now bettered that. They were an incredible team, Ron Dennis was an incredible team principal. To think we’ve bettered that is something the whole team has worked so hard for and will mean so much."