Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen has proven himself to be a generational talent throughout his Formula 1 career and the 2024 season has only enhanced his reputation.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix was where Max Verstappen officially secured the title, but the championship was won at several other races across the season where he achieved results that were well beyond his Red Bull’s capabilities.
Verstappen’s victory in Sao Paulo will go down in history as one of the greatest drives in the history of the sport.
It wasn’t just going from P17 to win the race, but the nature of his victory, setting fastest lap after fastest lap in the most treacherous conditions.
The 27-year-old also won the Spanish Grand Prix when Lando Norris was the favourite and held off his rival brilliantly at Imola.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast about his star driver after his P5 finish in Las Vegas.
Horner has had the honour of working with some incredible drivers at Red Bull, including David Coulthard, Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo and four-time Sebastian Vettel.
However, Horner believes Verstappen possesses one trait that no driver he’s ever worked with before has had.
Christian Horner lauds Max Verstappen after four F1 championship victory
Horner was asked about the comparison between Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel winning four titles in a row and how similar the journeys have been and said: “Well, of course, the numbers are similar in terms of four in a row, which I never thought we’d repeat, because to do it once is incredibly…
“You want to do it but you never know if you can.
“Max, winning that first World Championship then unshackled him and he’s just grown and grown and grown.
“He’s got the most phenomenal ability, but with that, the determination and tenacity and racing intelligence, the way he reads the race, the way he reads the tyres, the way he understands the setup of the car.
“I’ve never seen that in any other driver.”
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Horner was then asked if there was one standing moment during the season and quickly retorted: “Ah, Brazil. Undoubtedly. I mean going from 17th in the wet to winning that Grand Prix.
“For me, that was Senna 1993 kind of performance. So, yeah, without a shadow of a doubt.”
Max Verstappen faces his toughest challenge yet with Red Bull in 2025
Despite Verstappen’s incredible ability, he looks unlikely to be able to guide Red Bull to a third consecutive Constructors’ Championship this year.
Sergio Perez’s struggles have hampered the team’s chances, but that’s down to how difficult the car has become to drive this year.
Red Bull have apologised to Perez for not listening to his feedback, citing Verstappen’s ability to drive around those problems when explaining why they didn’t investigate those issues sooner.
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Red Bull will be hoping to take a step forward over the winter, but right now McLaren and Ferrari are the favourites going into next year.
This means Verstappen is unlikely to be able to go on a run of seven victories in the first 10 races to build up the lead he required to hold off Norris.
However, given Verstappen’s ability, it’s impossible to look past him as the favourite heading into 2025.
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