Horner says Verstappen has "the capability" to be an eight-time champion
F1 News
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner thinks Max Verstappen "still has more to come" and has "got the capability" to become an eight-time world champion in Formula 1. The Dutchman sealed his fourth consecutive world title at the age of 27 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, and it looks like he is getting better and better as his F1 career continues.
As a 16-year-old, Verstappen joined the Red Bull family. He later made his debut at Toro Rosso. Now, almost 11 years later, the now-27-year-old took a fourth drivers' championship finishing ahead of title rival Lando Norris in the 'Sin City' to give him an insurmountable lead in the championship with two races remaining.
In Las Vegas, while speaking to GPblog and others, Horner reflected on that period when Verstappen joined the Red Bull family, along with his development after that. "His talent was clear, Helmut identified that when he was in the Formula 3. And he joined us very quickly after that.
"I think that it's been an absolute pleasure seeing him grow from a boy into a man. And the speed has never changed. His experience, his perspective, his maturity is what has evolved over the last few years," Horner said, while a huge celebration was taking place in the background.
But according to Horner, Verstappen still has not reached his peak yet: "I think there's still more to come. He's only just 27 years of age. I think it's still how hard he pushes himself. I'm sure there's still more to come."
Verstappen has "the capabilities" to become the most successful driver
Verstappen has previously mentioned that he has no interest in weaving his way into the record books by becoming an eight-time world champion, previously stating that all the world title wins would hold the same weight to him no matter what. But Horner believes that there is potential for his driver to break those records before his career is done.
"I think he definitely has the capabilities to do it. It depends on other factors. As you know, this sport is about man and machine. So we have to make sure we give him the machines that are capable of being competitive," Horner concluded.
This article was created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen
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