Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has recently snubbed former golden boy Sebastian Vettel in favor of their current star, Max Verstappen. This praise comes after the Dutchman passed Vettel’s win record at Red Bull. Now that Verstappen is eyeing breaking Vettel’s record of four world titles, Horner is determined to glorify Verstappen and hail him as Red Bull’s greatest ever.
The two-time world champion has won eight races so far, taking his overall win tally to 43. His recent win in Silverstone was his sixth consecutive Grand Prix victory. And as things stand, Verstappen will need three more wins to replicate Vettel’s record of winning nine consecutive races from the 2013 Belgian GP to the 2013 Brazil GP.
Apart from this, the 25-year-old is also likely to claim his third straight World Championships with the mammoth lead he has this season. With that milestone, he will find himself just one championship short of completing or possibly surpassing Vettel’s legacy at Red Bull. Nevertheless, Vettel will always remain a legend of the Austrian team. As a result, it was difficult for Horner to choose between him and Verstappen, but he still made a call.
Horner picks Max Verstappen over Sebastian Vettel
During the latest episode of F1 Nation, Christian Horner revealed that he was fully drenched with Red Bull all over his body. This was because the session took place right in the aftermath of Red Bull’s euphoric British GP celebrations. With the drink dripping from his trousers, the delighted team principal finally chose between Verstappen and Vettel.
“It’s very similar“,” Horner said when he was asked to compare between Verstappen and Vettel. However, the boss then went on to reveal his preferred pick and said, “Max has got this, even when he loses the start, you know he is gonna be right there.”
11 wins in a row for the team, what an amazing achievement @redbullracing 🚀 This is an extraordinary job by everyone 👏 #KeepPushing
Thank you Silverstone 🇬🇧 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/JvY7dR54ij
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) July 9, 2023
Max Verstappen has a 99 point lead over his teammate Sergio Perez in the championship standings at the moment. Taking the RB19’s dominance into account, it seems unlikely that any other driver will stop him this season. As a result, praise from his team’s chief advisor Helmut Marko, did not come as a surprise.
Verstappen gets the upper hand from Helmut Marko as well
Apart from Horner, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko also sided with the dominant Dutch driver when asked to choose between him and Vettel. The 80-year-old was straightforward with his answer as he believes Verstappen is already better than Vettel ever was at Red Bull.
Even after Verstappen still trails Vettel’s legacy by two world titles, Marko told Sport1 that the 25-year-old is a step ahead of where Vettel was during his fabled Milton-Keynes stint.
Furthermore, as per Autoweek, the veteran Austrian emphasized that Verstappen needs no time to get to get settled in. His natural ability to maximize his performance is what helps him stand out from his contemporaries and in this case, Sebastian Vettel.
