Verstappen upped his game to secure fourth F1 crown – Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Max Verstappen put more effort in than in previous years to secure a fourth drivers’ championship under pressure from rivals. Verstappen finished fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix to seal his fourth consecutive title, and did so after battling increasingly stiff competition from McLaren’s Lando Norris season. Horner said the change in dynamic as Red Bull made another dominant start to the year only to see McLaren’s threat gradually rise resulted in Verstappen upping his game even further, “This was, together with 2021, the toughest,” Horner said. “This one, we started the season very strongly but by Miami it was clear McLaren had made a significant step. “Through the summer months when we were struggling a bit with the car, he was still second in Silverstone, second in Zandvoort and (Max) was still picking up big podiums and results. Behind the scenes he was putting a massive amount of effort in with the engineers, designers and on the simulator – more than any of the previous years. “He’s been outstanding this year – not only what he’s done inside the cockpit, and I think he’s inspired within the cockpit, but out of the cockpit as well, the way he has conducted himself and worked with the engineers and all the technical staff, has been phenomenal.” Horner said Verstappen was able to distance himself from the controversy surrounding his own team leadership at the start of the season to deliver a title in a manner that adds to the 27-year-old’s growing legacy. “This one is a very special victory because obviously there has been challenges this year,” Horner said. “But I think that Max, he has scored more than double the amount of race wins than any other driver, he has won it with two races to go and he has been head and shoulders the best driver on the grid in Formula 1. “What he’s really done this year is absolutely cement his position amongst the greats in the sport. Both statistically and the way he has driven, that’s unquestionable now. “Adversity will always galvanize a team, and that’s certainly what has happened with this team. Often there’s noise or speculation, and all of that’s been ignored, and most of all by Max. He hasn’t been distracted. He’s just got in and got on with the job. “There’s obviously areas that we need to improve for next year, and the team’s very focused, very hard on that, and how we build on this fourth consecutive championship.”