F1 News
Horner sees Verstappen excel again: 'That's why he's the champion'
- Ludo van Denderen
At the end of the Spanish Grand Prix, the Dutch and Austrian national anthems sounded for the 61st time. As Christian Horner watched the Spanish podium, On the top step was, of course, Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver was again the best despite strong opposition from McLaren and Lando Norris. The fact that the Dutchman won was not to be taken for granted, Horner thought.
"I think if Lando had track position it would have been difficult to beat him today," Horner said. It was so close between the two of them, they were then what, circa 18 seconds ahead of the rest of the field, so I would say that Lando has emerged from the pack as the most consistent challenger."
However, Horner hasn't fully clarified whether or not he believes McLaren is now the fastest car on the grid outright. "McLaren looked fast certainly at the end of the stints, which is something that we've seen in the past. They've been at a couple of races now, so their degradation seems to be good, but that's a little bit offset by the strategy and the overlap in the tyre line."
Verstappen demonstrated 'why he's the world champion'
Red Bull now has seven victories in the last 10 races. Four of which were hard-fought. Horner can be satisfied with his team and Verstappen. "The team is working at a level where we're still at the top. We're still delivering the pit stops at 1.9 seconds and the strategy, etc, but Max again demonstrated why he's the world champion, at the key moments he delivers." Concluded the Red Bull team boss.