Horner in major Verstappen claim after 'incredible' weekend

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes that Max Verstappen's performance across the Japanese Grand Prix weekend showed why he is the "best driver" in Formula 1.

Verstappen stunned McLaren to take pole position in an RB21 car that had been maligned in the opening two round of the season, fending off Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri's advances to take a fourth consecutive victory at Suzuka.

The result means that the four-time champion enters the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend just a point behind Norris in the drivers' standings, with Red Bull riding momentum into the second leg of the season's opening triple-header.

And while he was full of praise for Verstappen, Horner also pointed to the work put in by the engineers at the Milton Keynes-based outfit to turn around its fortunes and deliver success.

Horner: 'Anything is possible'

"You are always learning," he said.

"We adjusted everything this weekend: ride heights, weight distribution, wing settings, stabilizer bars – almost every part of the car. It just shows that if you keep working hard and never give up, anything is possible.

Focusing on Verstappen's efforts, Horner added: "Max was incredible this weekend and once again showed why I believe he is the best driver on the grid."

While Verstappen is in touch for a fifth title, Liam Lawson's failure to score in the first two races of the year and Yuki Tsunoda's scoreless debut at Suzuka mean that Red Bull sits 50 points adrift of McLaren's tally of 111 in the battle for the constructors' championship.

Read also

Verstappen reveals Red Bull areas of improvement ahead of Bahrain GP

Verstappen's win makes Russell wonder: 'Would McLaren be 1 or 5 tenths quicker?'