Max Verstappen the best driver Red Bull has ever had, claims Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen is the best driver to have raced for Red Bull in the squad’s history in Formula 1.

Verstappen has been making waves in F1 ever since he became the youngest driver to step up to grand prix racing at the age of 17 in 2015.

Last year, the Dutchman romped to his fourth straight F1 title, putting him level with Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost in the list of drivers with most world championships.

It was Vettel who heralded Red Bull’s first dominant phase in F1, leading the Milton Keynes squad to four consecutive title doubles between 2010-2013.

However, Horner believes Verstappen has taken things up a notch, as he likened the 27-year-old to retired tennis legend Roger Federer.

Asked if Verstappen is the greatest driver Red Bull has ever had, the Briton told the BBC: “We have been blessed to have some very talented drivers here. Of course, a four-time world champion in Sebastian Vettel, but Max even takes it a step further than that."

He added: "For me watching him drive the car is a bit like Roger Federer at the top of his game hitting a tennis ball. He does it with such precision and timing.

“Again, that first sector in Jeddah, it's such a joy to watch and see [a driver] totally at one [with the car], totally confident in himself and extracting every ounce of performance. And his timing and accuracy has been outstanding.”

While Horner admitted that it’s hard to compare drivers from different eras of F1, he believes it’s now time to acknowledge that Verstappen deserves a place among the sport’s all-time greats.

“That's so difficult to judge,” he said. “He is certainly the greatest there is on the grid at this point in time. How [do] you compare generations, but he has to be talked about in the same bracket now as some of the very greatest of all-time in the sport.

“He has got all the capability to achieve many records but it would depend on us giving him the tools to do the job and how long he ultimately wants to stay in the sport.”

Apart from the four world championship titles he won between 2021-24, Verstappen has also clinched 64 race wins, 115 podiums and 43 pole positions in a little over 10 seasons in F1.

By comparison, Vettel scored 53 wins, 122 podiums and 57 pole positions in a career spanning 15-and-a-half seasons between 2007 and 2012.

Only Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Juan Manuel Fangio have more titles to their names than Verstappen and Vettel.

In terms of race wins, Verstappen is third on the list (64), behind Hamilton on 105 and Schumacher on 91, but ahead of Vettel (53).

As far as their qualifying performance is concerned, Vettel is comfortably ahead of Verstappen with 57 poles compared to 43 for Verstappen. They both trail Hamilton (104), Schumacher (68) and Ayrton Senna (65) in the list of drivers with most pole positions.