"Max Verstappen is way above the rest" - Red Bull boss Christian Horner full of praise for championship-winning driver

Christian Horner showered Max Verstappen with praise after his championship-winning dominant 2022 season. He stated that the Dutchman is currently 'way above the rest' on the Formula 1 grid. He was also of the belief that his only rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, could come halfway as close as him.

The Red Bull Racing team principal is confident that if the team can provide him with a car that fits his talent, Verstappen will be able to achieve a lot more than the two World Championships he has achieved in the last two seasons.

F1Briefings quoted him as saying:

"I never look too far ahead, but for me, Max is way above the rest in Formula 1. I think we can achieve a lot more if we give him a car that matches his talent. There are only two drivers in Formula 1 who are halfway to the level of Verstappen, which are Leclerc and Hamilton."

Max Verstappen's success triumphed for the first time since the end of the 2021 season when he clinched his first World Championship out of Lewis Hamilton's hands in Abu Dhabi, the final race of the season.

Contrary to the battle he had at the time, the 2022 season for him and for Red Bull was much more dominant. He managed to gain a great lead over Charles Leclerc and won his second World Championship after the Japanese Grand Prix.

The team, too, won their first constructors' title after almost a decade at the Circuit of the Americas during the US GP.

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Horner wasn't the only one filled with praise for Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen's talent has been appreciated multiple times by others on the grid and those who were once a part of the sport. Romain Grosjean, a former F1 driver, even said that it is hard being his teammate because of the mere dominance and control he has over the grid. He said:

"You don't [beat him]! [It's] as simple as that. Those two races, [he] was just stronger than anyone else. In those races, it’s not hard to be one of the competitors, because you’re just like, 'Well, it is another level'. It's hard to be a teammate, because when you see that happening and you don't [match] it, it hurts a lot. But for the rest of us, [you accept they're] on a different league."

Heading into the 2023 season, the team is expecting yet another flattering performance from Max Verstappen, however, other teams like Mercedes and Ferrari will be trailing in development and strategy to catch up with them.