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Red Bull boss Christian Horner has claimed that Max Verstappen can be mentioned in the same breath as F1's all-time greats.
Max Verstappen's meteoric rise in F1 in the past few years has been well-documented. The Dutchman, now 25, is the reigning two-time World Champion, and the youngest to do so.
The Red Bull ace has continued his sensational form from the last season, having won all but two races so far this season. He is in the pursuit of a hat-trick of World Championships, continuing to smash records in the process.
Verstappen added yet another thing to the list of his achievements this past week in Montreal. The 25-year-old captured his 41st career race win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, equalling his tally with the legendary Ayrton Senna.
This feat didn't go unnoticed in the F1 world, with the Red Bull receiving heaps of praise for his dominant display in Canada.
Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal has joined the list of Verstappen's praisers. Horner is in awe of Max's achievements and believes he deserves to be mentioned alongside the greats of the sport.
He recently expressed his admiration for Verstappen, hailing the Dutchman as a "mega superstar." He believes that Verstappen's achievements at just 25 years of age are nothing short of incredible.
"What we're witnessing with Max is the emergence of another mega talent, and you can start to talk about him in the same sentences as the greats," stated Horner.
The Red Bull boss also noted that Max Verstappen's achievement in matching Senna's win tally was significant in the context of Formula 1's recent history. Horner aptly remarked:
"Having matched Senna, I thought the podium was actually very apt of the last couple of decades of Formula 1 with Max, Fernando and Lewis up there."
Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, in that order, at the Canadian GP.
Christian Horner reflects on Max Verstappen's 41st and Red Bull's 100th race win
Max Verstappen winning his remarkable 41st career race was not just a milestone victory for the Dutchman, but also for his team Red Bull Racing. With the win in Montreal, the Austrian outfit reached 100 race wins in total since they took over the entry from Jaguar in 2005.
Reflecting on the achievement, Christian Horner reminisced on the early days of Red Bull Racing and the vision of the team's owner, Dietrich Mateschitz. Mateschitz wanted Red Bull Racing to be different from the traditional corporate teams in Formula 1.
“[Dietrich Mateschitz] wanted to be different, he didn’t want to be a corporate team where you needed 25 passes to get into the motorhome,” said Horner.
With Max Verstappen leading the line, Red Bull have established themselves as the ultimate powerhouse in F1 in recent years.
However, their current state was a far-fetched dream in 2009, when Red Bull won their first-ever F1 race, four years after entering the sport. Horner vividly remembers that day, collecting the trophy and boarding the plane home with a sense of accomplishment.
“I remember collecting the trophy that day and getting on the plane to go home that evening and thinking, 'Well, at least we’ve won one. If nothing else happens, we’ve won a race.'," Horner said.
Horner expressed his disbelief at the team's achievement of reaching 100 race wins. What started as a single victory in 2009 had evolved into a consistent winning formula, securing a total of 99 victories over the years.
“It felt so good it was like 'Well we want to feel that again!' Who’d have thought 99 victories [later] we’d achieve a century?"
With Max Verstappen in a huge lead followed by teammate Sergio Perez, Red Bull can expect another championship win coming this season.
