Christian Horner does not share the criticism of Max Verstappen and explains that Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna were once in a similar situation
Although he had already won his fourth consecutive world championship title in 2024, Max Verstappen still has some critics. And especially last year, the Dutchman was once again under particular scrutiny due to his sometimes aggressive driving style.
His duels against Lando Norris, for which the world champion was also partially penalized, repeatedly earned him criticism over the course of the 2024 season. He himself has always emphasized that he doesn’t care what many people think of him.
However, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has now revealed that this does not mean that all the criticism does not affect Verstappen. “He is more sensitive than you think,” he emphasizes, explaining that the Dutchman is well aware of the criticism he faces.
“And some of it is very unfounded in my opinion,” Horner clarifies. ‘He’s a driver who drives aggressively,’ says the team principal, ”but so did Senna, so did Schumacher, so did Hamilton.”
“They were all under the same spotlight at different times in their careers,” says Horner, who explains that it was no different for Verstappen. He therefore does not share most of the criticism of his driver.
On the contrary: in his opinion, the now 27-year-old Verstappen has even matured in recent years. He recalls: “He came to us as a teenager and was a product of the Red Bull junior team. His talent was obvious.”
“Helmut [Marko] recognized that when he was in Formula 3, and he came to us very quickly afterwards,” Horner recalls, emphasizing: “The speed has not changed. His experience, perspective and maturity have obviously developed in recent years.”
“It was a pleasure to see him grow from a boy into a man,” emphasizes the team principal, who has accompanied Verstappen, who initially joined the premier class with sister team Toro Rosso in 2015, throughout his entire Formula One career.
Since 2016, the Dutchman has been driving directly for the A-team of the bulls under Horner, and since 2021, he has won the drivers’ world championship there four times in a row.
