Red Bull can offer Max Verstappen the best platform to beat Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton to the Formula 1 title if he uses it correctly, according to team boss Christian Horner.
The young Dutchman is believed to be considering his future with the company he only joined back in 2014, with both Mercedes and Ferrari reportedly circling to try and capture him at the end of 2018.
However, while admitting a lack of competitiveness this season would make the prospect of a switch tempting to Verstappen, Horner claims to join either of the top two teams would result see the 20-year-old simply become second fiddle to whichever driver would be his teammate.
“I think he can see the strength and depth of the team,” Horner told Autosport, arguing the case for him to stay at Red Bull. “He feels comfortable in the team. He’s the youngest Grand Prix winner, he’s the youngest double winner, he’s the youngest points scorer.
“Lewis is pretty set at Mercedes, Seb has signed for three years at Ferrari, [therefore] the obvious thing is to build a team around you, but it’s down to us to provide him with a competitive car.”
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Certainly, following the highs at races such as Spain and Brazil last year, the difficulties this season have been quite the comedown for Verstappen, who sits sixth in the Drivers’ Championship. But the Briton points to the number of situations he has been in this season at which lady luck has ultimately intervened.
“There were so many races this year when he was in a fantastic position to achieve big results,” Horner commented. “He’s had four mechanical issues, all engine problems. If you look at the points lost, he should be sitting a pretty close third in the championship at the moment.”
Nevertheless, he praised how Max has dealt with the disappointments believing this season can act as a key development year for his future.
“The experiences that he’s gone through only broaden his shoulders and it makes you appreciate the good days like Malaysia even more when you’ve had tough days like a couple of weeks earlier in Singapore, or at his home race at Spa,” the Red Bull boss claimed.
“Credit to him that at such a young age he hasn’t let frustration boil over, he’s kept his head down, he’s kept plugging away. I always said, when it comes right for him, it’s going to come right in a big way and that’s exactly what happened in Malaysia. He drove a great race there, with no issues.
“It’s quite astounding that he’s only just turned 20. He’s growing in all areas. He has so little experience in car racing per se that every weekend he’s learning and getting stronger.
“There’s no shortcut to experience. He’s now close to completing his third Grand Prix season, and the level he’s performing at is phenomenal. What’s exciting is what the future holds for him.”