Horner: 'Verstappen has developed enormously'

"He has again brought a dynamic on the team, particularly now with the experience he has with the ripe old age of 23. He's performing at a phenomenal level and has been for the past two or three seasons now," said Horner. "I think that he deserves a car, that we're finally now able to provide him, a car and an engine to go and challenge the mercedes. I think he's relishing that."

The Red Bull team boss is asked how Verstappen has developed in recent years. "A huge amount. I remember he was only 17 when he joined us. The difference between 17 and 23 is a big percentage of a young person's life and I think the maturity, the experience he has now, he's got his feet on the ground."

"He's just a no-bullshit racer. That's all he cares about, that's all he wants to do. You know that when you put him in the car he'll give you 110 percent. What makes him so exciting to watch, I think , is that you just know. Imola this year on the grid starting P3, he's not gonna be there at the first corner. That kind of thing. You just know you're gonna get 110 percent from him."

Verstappen's victory in Spain

In the podcast, Horner looks back at his victory in Spain. Verstappen won on his Red Bull debut in Barcelona. What was going through the team boss's mind when he won there?

"How the hell did he do that? We thought we put Daniel on the better strategy and Max managed to convert a one-stopper or whatever it was into a win. I was thinking 'how did he make the tires last'? Did he just do that? I remember it was the most surreal thing. He never had even sat in the car for the weekend. We just chucked him straight in and boom first victory."

Helmut Marko in particular was criticised for the decision to switch Daniil Kvyat with Verstappen, but according to Horner it was the right decision. "It secured Max for the long term that we could then start to build with. And with Max and Daniel we had three more years of a fantastic combination of drivers."