Max Verstappen is more than talented than Red Bull's most successful prodigy Sebastian Vettel, team boss Christian Horner has declared.
Comparisons between the two drivers are always likely to be made given the similar paths they have had, yet while the current Ferrari driver had two world titles to his name after three years at the Milton Keynes outfit, Verstappen only has four wins to his name over the same period.
Of course, the team's lack of competitiveness is the main reason for that with Mercedes dominating and Red Bull sat second or third best, but having worked with them Horner does see areas where the Dutchman has an advantage.
"Max has more talent, he is like a lion when he is in the car. He never gives up, never," he told Germany's Autobild.
"He has a crazy fighting spirit and in fact he reminds me of Sebastian in some ways. Even the way he gets into the car reminds me of him.
"He is still a young guy, younger than Seb when he came to us. But he is becoming an adult driver and man."
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Verstappen himself has Vettel's achievements in focus with a goal of achieving the same four F1 titles by the age of 30 that the now 31-year-old had.
Achieving that target, as Horner admits, is dependent on a number of factors.
"There is no guarantee but he has all the skills you need to become a multiple time champion," he said. "The next generation with drivers like [Charles] Leclerc and Max will give us a lot of pleasure."
According to former GP2 driver turned commentator Davide Valsecchi though, Verstappen may well be the only driver capable of knocking Lewis Hamilton from his current perch.
"He is extremely young, extremely good and extremely arrogant," the Italian was quoted by GPFans.
"Although, arrogant may not be the right word. He has a lot of self-confidence: 'I am the best, f**k you'. I love that. Max is a killer, always aggressive and very fast. You need that to become champion.
"In my view, Verstappen is the only one who can beat Hamilton. He can cause panic in Lewis' head.
"It is deadly sin that Max does not have a champion car. Now Hamilton is unbeatable because he has no competition. Max is much better than Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas."
