Christian Horner: Max Verstappen's F1 'achievements don't get the recognition they deserve'
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes that Max Verstappen's achievements do not get the recognition they deserve. Notably, the Dutchman has put up a dominant display this year, raking in 14 wins in the season so far.
Horner, while speaking to RacingNews365.com, reflected on Max Verstappen's new records and how his achievements compare to Sebastian Vettel's:
"They are two very different, but very successful drivers. What Sebastian has accomplished puts him among the greatest and most successful drivers in the sport. But what we see with Max today is incredibly special and sometimes I really think his achievements don't get the recognition they deserve."
Unbelievable, what a season, and what a fantastic race!
To achieve 14 wins in a season is down to all the hard work by everyone in the team, let’s keep this going @redbullracing @HondaRacingGLB https://t.co/nG6uMggIPA
Horner further hailed Max Verstappen's supreme racing this season that put him head and shoulders above the rest:
"We've had the years of Mercedes dominance, but now we saw perhaps the most impressive campaign from one individual. He won the most races and on top of that two sprint races and not all of them from pole position. He had to do it. racing and fighting for and looking back at the year you can only conclude that it was an excellent season."
The Dutch prodigy had managed more than a 100-point lead over his nearest rival when the season hit the summer break. When racing resumed, Verstappen headed for more victories and lifted his trophy at Suzuka.
Max Verstappen explains his decision to boycott Sky Sports
Max Verstappen boycotted Sky Sports F1 and all its affiliations after commentator Ted Kravitz implied that the driver "robbed" Lewis Hamilton from his 2021 title. The Red Bull pilot felt upset about these statements and decided to call it out.
Max is right, he is honest, realistic, objective and not childish or narrow minded! You go Max …. #skysports #skysportsf1 #maxverstappen #max #f1 #TedKravitz https://t.co/AMMg29yBwn
While speaking at a press conference after the 2022 F1 Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen explained:
"It had nothing to do with this weekend. But this year, it's been a constant… kind of like digging, being disrespectful, especially one particular person. And at one point it's enough you know? I don't accept it. You can't live in the past, you just have to move on. At the moment, social media is a very toxic place. And if you are constantly being like that, live on TV, you make it only worse instead of trying to make it better in the world. You keep being… You keep disrespecting me, and at one point I'm not tolerating it anymore, so that's why I decided to stop answering."
Verstappen's 2021 title has faced a lot of controversies and remains heavily discussed to date. In fact, after Red Bull's cost cap breach, many fans refuse to recognize the 25-year-old's achievements.
In his segment for Ted's Notebook, Kravitz also resembled a similar stand. The F1 pundit openly called out Red Bull and Verstappen, even claiming that the Dutchman cannot win a title in a normal way.