Christian Horner, principal of the Red Bull racing team, has reassured Max Verstappen that the team does not “constrain him to give a PR view.” Accordingly, Verstappen is welcome to speak his own mind.
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Already a three-time World Champion, Verstappen is noted for often expressing his honest views during media appearances and press conferences. Throughout the Las Vegas weekend, the Dutchman was extremely dismissive of the show and entertainment around the event, making his point in a brutally honest fashion. Many fans around the world applauded and appreciated the words from the 26-year-old.
The 54-time Grand Prix winner pulled no punches on his thoughts about sprint weekends, too.
Horner is happy to let his number one driver, Verstappen, continue to state what’s on his mind, even though he hardly sings from the F1 hymnsheet.
“We believe in our drivers having a freedom of choice,” Horner said. “They’re not robots, they have opinions.
“And Max has a voice as the World Champion, and we don’t constrain him to give a PR view. He’s a very honest, young guy and he’ll tell you how he sees it. And I think that’s actually quite refreshing.
“I think he’s changing because he’s maturing a little bit, he’s got a bit more facial hair these days. But no, the essence of who he is, is the same. He gets in, he drives the car, drives the wheels off it.”
After describing the Grand Prix as “99% show, 1% sporting event” at the opening ceremony in Vegas, Max Verstappen waved what he really thought about F1’s advertising plan shortly after qualifying in Vegas: that there should be more of an emphasis on the sporting aspects of the work that teams, drivers, and engineers do in order to attract fans.
Even to Horner, his driver’s disapproval of Formula One’s commercial elements is widely recognized.
“He doesn’t enjoy all the razzmatazz that surrounds Formula 1, but he never has,” Horner stated.
“He does his job professionally. He’s just an out-and-out racer and has his feet on the ground.
“And if he’s not racing here, he’ll be driving a GT car or racing online.
“He lives and breathes it.”
Photo Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Horner thinks Verstappen was “outstanding” in 2023 because of his “patient” attitude and everything that he’s learned from past years.
“If you look at the control that he has in races, the way he’s reading races, the tyre management that he has: outstanding.
“And he’s just using the experience that he’s gleaned from both racing this year, last year, 2021,” he added.
“In many respects, first corners, he’s been absolutely more reserved than in the earlier days of his career. His timing has been excellent.
“The way he’s played out races, he’s not rushed to get it all done in the first couple of laps, he’s built his way through a race,” the Red Bull team principal concluded.
