Max Verstappen is the greatest driver Red Bull has had in its entire Formula 1 history and the best on the current grid, according to team boss Christian Horner, who believes the Dutchman is on a different level to even Sebastian Vettel.
Verstappen has equalled the four F1 titles that Vettel achieved with Red Bull between the 2010 and 2013 seasons.
Vettel, who retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season, remains the youngest driver to win four titles at the age of 26. Verstappen was 27 when he secured his fourth crown last year.
Verstappen has scored 64 wins to Vettel’s 53.
Despite the similarity of their statistics, Horner reckons Verstappen is one step ahead of Vettel.
“For me, watching him drive the car is a little bit like Roger Federer at the top of his game, hitting a tennis ball. He does it with such precision and timing,” Horner told BBC’s The Inside Track podcast.
“You watch that first sector in Jeddah, and we’re seeing a driver, and it’s such a joy to watch, and see totally at one, totally confident in himself and extracting every ounce of performance and his timing and accuracy has been outstanding,” added Horner, referring to Verstappen’s qualifying lap in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last week.
Asked if Verstappen was the greatest driver Red Bull has had, Horner said: “Yes, yeah. Yes, I mean we’ve been blessed to have some very talented drivers here and of course a full-time world champion in Sebastian Vettel but I think Max even takes it a step further than that.”
He added: “He’s certainly the greatest that is on the grid at this point in time. He has to be talked about in the same bracket now as some of the very greatest of all time in the sport.
Verstappen is the greatest driver on the current grid – Horner
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“He’s got all the capability to achieve many records, but it will depend on us giving him the tools to do the job and how long he ultimately wants to stay in the sport.”
Verstappen has a long-term contract with Red Bull, but that hasn’t stopped speculation about his future, particularly after a challenging start to the 2025 season in which McLaren has emerged as the team to beat.
Verstappen is third in the standings, only 12 points behind Oscar Piastri, but the team is aware it needs to improve its car to make questions about his future go away.
Horner insists however that the Dutchman is not going anywhere just yet.
“He’s got a contract until 2028. Of course, if we can’t deliver him a competitive car, inevitably then you’ll raise questions about that. But he’s absolutely committed,” Horner added.
“This team has provided him with a car that won 64 or 65 grands prix so far, four world championships. And he enjoys working with the people. He has a great relationship with the team, the engineering staff.
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“And we’re all in it together at the end of the day. And as a team, you win together, you lose together, and you stick together.
“Max is a huge part of our team and he’s very much enmeshed in everything that we’re doing development-wise. There’s an awful lot of noise externally. Sometimes we wonder where on Earth that comes from because there is not the same noise internally.
“Max has got his head down. He’s fully committed. He’s voiced that commitment to the team, to all the leadership within the team. And everybody’s just focused on improving the car and competing for the world championship.
“Where the headlines come from is sometimes difficult to understand.”
Verstappen skipped media commitments ahead of this weekend’s Miami GP due to the expected birth of his first child with his partner Kelly Piquet.
