Horner praises: 'Driver like Max Verstappen only gives motivation'

Verstappen continues to develop

Verstappen has recorded one of the most dominant seasons in Formula 1 so far in 2023. The two-time world champion won 12 out of 15 races, including 10 in a row. With the latter, the Red Bull Racing driver even set an F1 record. According to Horner, F1 fans have not even seen the best of the Dutchman yet.

"He just gets sharper and sharper. The raw speed and ability has been there from day one and that hunger and passion that he drives with. But now he couples that with experience and the way he reads the race, the way he manages tyres, the way he reads the situation is phenomenal. And I think he pushes the team, we push him and we both go to new levels. I think the team operationally this year has hit new standards as well, because whether it be strategically, whether it be pit stops, whether it be reliability, etc. I think all of those boxes we've managed to be ticking. And I think success only spurs all aspects of the business to do better. And of course, when you've got a driver like Max Verstappen, that just adds that added motivation that nobody wants to let the team down," Horner told reporters in Japan.

Verstappen 'mature' in Singapore

In Singapore, the Red Bull Racing team suddenly went downhill, but Verstappen handled that very well, according to his team boss. "He dealt with it very, very maturely. Obviously, it was a difficult weekend, but he raced very hard. He was patient in the race when he needed to be. Unfortunately, I think if the safety car had come out five laps earlier or five laps later, it would have transformed our race somewhat differently. But it was what it was. He knew at some point we were going to get beaten. I think he dealt with the situation well. He was pushing obviously to understand and contribute as to what the reasonings were for our relative lack of performance last weekend to the rest of the year."