Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has backed Max Verstappen to continue voicing his truth saying that the team doesn’t “constrain him to give a PR view.”
Verstappen, now a three-time Formula 1 Drivers’ Champion, is regularly outspoken during media and press conferences, giving his truest opinion on matters.
This was abundantly clear during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which the Dutchman was repeatedly critical of during the weekend.
Verstappen was critical of F1 for focussing on entertainment over sport and was in disagreement with how the fans who were escorted away from the track during the opening day of practice were compensated.
Despite Verstappen rarely singing to the F1 hymnsheet, Horner is more than happy to let his star driver continue speaking his mind.
“We believe in our drivers having a freedom of choice,” Horner told Autosport. “They’re not robots, they have opinions.
“And Max has a voice as the World Champion, and we don’t constrain him to give a PR view.
“He’s a very honest, young guy and he’ll tell you how he sees it. And I think that’s actually quite refreshing.
“I think he’s changing because he’s maturing a little bit, he’s got a bit more facial hair these days.
“But no, the essence of who he is, is the same. He gets in, he drives the car, drives the wheels off it.”
Verstappen certainly did the talking both on and off the track during 2023, winning 19 of 22 races.
Vegas was one of the multiple settings that saw the Dutchman take to the top step of the podium and having referred to the GP as “99% show, 1% sporting event” following the Vegas opening ceremony, he made his thoughts clear on how F1 should market itself following Vegas qualifying, calling for a greater focus on what teams, drivers and engineers do to engage with fans on a sporting level.
The Dutchman’s opposition to the entertainment side of F1 is no secret, especially to Horner.
“He doesn’t enjoy all the razzmatazz that surrounds Formula 1, but he never has,” the Red Bull team boss said.
“He does his job professionally.
“He’s just an out-and-out racer and has his feet on the ground.
“And if he’s not racing here, he’ll be driving a GT car or racing online.
“He lives and breathes it.”
On the racing front, Horner believes that Verstappen’s “patient” approach has been “outstanding,” having learnt from previous campaigns.
“If you look at the control that he has in races, the way he’s reading races, the tyre management that he has: outstanding,” Horner said.
“And he’s just using the experience that he’s gleaned from both racing this year, last year, 2021.
“In many respects, first corners, he’s been absolutely more reserved than in the earlier days of his career.
“His timing has been excellent.
“The way he’s played out races, he’s not rushed to get it all done in the first couple of laps, he’s built his way through a race.”
