When Max Verstappen burst onto the Method 1 scene in 2015 he immediately impressed together with his velocity behind the wheel, regardless of being simply 17-years-old on the time. Since then he has gone on to change into one of the vital thrilling drivers within the sport – however his Purple Bull boss Christian Horner says there may be nonetheless much more to come back from the proficient Dutchman.
Verstappen famously won the Spanish Grand Prix on his debut for Red Bull, after being promoted mid-season from the Toro Rosso group, to change into the youngest winner in F1 historical past – he was simply 18 on the time – and has since added eight extra wins to his tally.
READ MORE: Why Red Bull’s Nurburgring performance bodes well for the rest of the season
This season he has change into the one actual challenger to Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, beating the pair to victory within the seventieth Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, and making the rostrum in each race he has completed. He additionally has greater than double the factors tally of his group mate Alex Albon after 11 races. However Horner says that is only the start for his star driver, who’s now competing in his sixth full F1 season.
“Is there extra to come back from Max? Look, I feel simply as he beneficial properties expertise he’s simply maturing as a driver,” Horner stated.
WATCH: Verstappen celebrates quickest lap within the Eifel GP
“He’s solely simply actually turned 23 years of age, however he’s obtained a major quantity of races behind him now and he’s simply rising and rising. You’ll be able to see that maturity within the automobile, in his racing and I feel there’s thrilling occasions forward of him.”
In the meantime Horner stated he was inspired by the group’s efficiency final outing on the Eifel Grand Prix, the place he felt Purple Bull had been “a step closer” to tempo setters Mercedes.
DRIVER MARKET: Who will drive for AlphaTauri in 2021? All the key contenders’ chances rated
And with three unfamiliar circuits arising on this revised 2020 calendar, Horner stated the group had been eager to complete this yr on a excessive, however had been already waiting for subsequent yr, when they are going to be running a ‘B-spec’ version of their current car.
“We’ve obtained Portimao, we’ve obtained Istanbul, we’ve obtained Imola – they’re all circuits that shall be fairly attention-grabbing for us and we’re eager to complete the season with optimistic momentum, having understood fairly just a few of the problems that we’ve had with RB16, in order that that’s addressed going into RB16B,” he stated.
