'Teen will only get stronger after Spanish GP win', says Horner
Thursday 19 May 2016 11:22, UK
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has lavished praised on teenager Max Verstappen after his stunning Spanish GP victory.
The team's decision to swap Daniil Kvyat with Verstappen was the major pre-weekend talking point but the Dutchman justified their faith in him in abundance, smashing Formula 1 records as he kept Kimi Raikkonen at bay in Barcelona.
"I think he's already marked himself out as a superstar of the future and justified the faith Red Bull has shown in him. What he has clearly got is an ability to perform under pressure," Horner told Sky Sports News. "When Kimi Raikkonen was following him, never once did he put a wheel wrong or brake a lock-up. He's incredibly calm under pressure."
Verstappen's maiden F1 victory was also Red Bull's first in two years and the former world champions are expected to perform strongly again in two weeks' time at a Monaco circuit which should suit their car.
"To score his first victory now, becoming the youngest grand prix victor on his debut for the team is fairytale stuff," added Horner. "I suspect he's going to get stronger when he gets more experienced, more familiar in the car. His confidence will grow."
The win required Verstappen to eke out 32 laps on the medium compound, but the 18-year-old had no problems with the unfancied two-stop strategy, and his mentality impressed Horner.
Brundle: Verstappen F1's new beginning
"I think the biggest aspect of his weekend has been his calmness," he explained. "We're all getting tense when there's five laps to go, because the tyres were at the end of their life and he's got Kimi breathing down his neck with what looked like obvious advantages.
"He very calmly came on the radio and said 'please can you ask Charlie to deal with the blue flags swiftly'. There was no agitation in his voice, there was no panic, there was no tension. It was a young man who was completely in control of what he was doing."
Horner could only offer his sympathy to Daniel Ricciardo, who was leading the race before Red Bull brought him into the pits in an attempt to counter the threat of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
Verstappen, meanwhile, has a long way to go if he his to match four-time world champion Vettel, but his career seems to be following a similar trend already having made the jump from Toro Rosso to winning races so quickly.
And that's not where the early comparisons end, according to his new team boss.
Verstappen: The power of youth
"It's quite uncanny really because there's an awful lot of similarities to when Sebastian joined the team," Horner added. "Mechanics were telling me that even the way he gets in the car is similar. Same side, the way he pulls his knee up to get into the chassis, and so on.
"But he's his own man as well. He's a very together young man, you'd never have thought he was 18."
