Why Christian Horner compares his Red Bull driver Max Verstappen to Ayrton Senna and how much Bernie Ecclestone raves about Verstappen
How Max Verstappen went from P17 to P11 in the first lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix 2024 alone was “electrifying” according to his Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. What’s more, Horner felt reminded of a brilliant performance by Ayrton Senna and said: “Max’s first lap is on a par with Donington 1993, the way he overtook on the outside at Turn 3.”
Horner is alluding to the European Grand Prix 31 years ago, when Senna, in fourth place in the McLaren, initially dropped back to fifth place but immediately seized the initiative again on a rain-soaked track, overtaking the opponents in front of him one after the other to return from the first race lap in the lead. He won by a comfortable margin, only not lapping the runner-up.
Verstappen performed similarly in Brazil, albeit less dominant than Senna in 1993. And on his first lap of the race, Verstappen did not overtake the absolute superstars in the field either, but rather mostly the backmarkers in already inferior vehicles, some of whom were competing in a Formula One rain race for the first time.
According to Horner, however, Verstappen was “the only car that made any progress at all” in the 2024 race. He simply overtook them one after the other, with very late braking maneuvers into Turn 1, whether it was Lewis [Hamilton], Oscar Piastri or, later, Esteban [Ocon].
“Max controlled the race and pulled away with ease, sometimes by a second per lap,” says Horner, before waxing philosophical: ‘On a gloomy day, he shone quite brightly.’
“The perfect race” for Verstappen
all the more so given that Red Bull hadn’t won in months and the mood in the team had deteriorated in recent weeks. “But the best response is on the racetrack, and that’s what Max did,” says Horner.
“He was aggressive out there. To go from P17 to P1, that was one of his best races. And when the conditions are difficult, you see the differences between the drivers.”
“But I have to give credit to the team for putting a car in front of him that allowed him to achieve this result. And it’s a great result. It was the perfect race for Max and the team,” says Horner.
“Emotional rollercoaster ride”, even without Perez
For Verstappen perhaps, but from a team perspective, not really: Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez came eleventh in the Grand Prix and left without points, taking home just one point for eighth place in the sprint. And while Verstappen leads the drivers’ standings with 393 points, Perez, with 151 points, is currently in eighth place, the worst of the four top teams.
But it wasn’t just Perez’s poor form that made it an “emotional rollercoaster” for Red Bull in Brazil, says Horner. After the sprint, his team realized “that we had a good car. We were convinced of our good pace. But then we were just unlucky in qualifying.”
On top of that, Verstappen received an engine penalty for having new components installed. So P12 became P17. But Horner emphasizes that Verstappen did not let that bother him either: “Then you have to quickly focus on the race, but Max’s mental strength and his ability to deal with it are simply outstanding.”
Ecclestone praises Max Verstappen
Where Verstappen joins the ranks of former Formula 1 greats with his overall performance in Brazil, Horner is then asked. His answer: “It’s difficult to make such an assessment across generations.”
“But Bernie [Ecclestone] called me after the race and said, ‘I’ve seen all the greats drive, and that was one of the best performances ever.’ He’s a bit older than me and has seen a lot more himself, so that’s a special compliment from his mouth.”
Ecclestone actually shaped the history of Formula One early on: as a team owner and driver manager from the late 1950s and later as CEO of the racing series, which rose to become a global sport under Ecclestone. Ecclestone only lost his top position in Formula One in 2017 after Liberty Media took over the championship.
Horner criticizes race control decisions
And where Ecclestone continues to attract attention with pointed and snide comments, Horner is also irritated by “a few surprises” in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Namely: “That the race wasn’t stopped earlier with red. There were many drivers who didn’t think it was safe anymore.”
“Also the restart after only [two laps] behind the safety car, and without the people behind having caught up. They just seemed overzealous to release the race again.”
