Christian Horner warns rivals that Max Verstappen will only get stronger

Red Bull's rivals have been warned that this is only the start for Max Verstappen, as the youngster will only get better as he grows in confidence behind the wheel of the RB12 – a car he drove for the first time three days before winning the Spanish Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old won on his debut with the team after a surprise promotion from Toro Rosso just under two weeks ago, and although his victory was aided by the Mercedes cars crashing out from the lead, Verstappen proved his talent by holding off KImi Raikkonen for more than 20 laps without making a single mistake.

Team boss Christian Horner reckons Verstappen's confidence will grow as a result of the win and expects the Dutchman to shine in the future.

"To come in and qualify on the second row and then win in your first grand prix [with a new team], it can only get worse," Horner is quoted as saying by Motorsport.

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"But I suspect he will only get stronger and, as he gets more experience, and more familiar with the car, his confidence will grow."

Horner believes Red Bull now has the strongest driver pairing on the grid with Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo and described the season so far as 'a dream'.

"I said it before the weekend, but I really believe we have got the strongest pairing of drivers in Formula 1 now. I think Spain demonstrates that," he added.

"To see the two Red Bull cars running at the front, I think it demonstrates that we really have got an awesome driver pairing and we are in a position which is far stronger than we could have imagined.

"We felt that the second half of the season would be stronger than the first. But we were on the podium in China, we've won a grand prix here in Barcelona after five races. I would never have even dreamed of that pre-season."