Red Bull boss Christian Horner has highlighted the “spare capacity” Max Verstappen has at the wheel of a Formula 1 car as one of his most “impressive” traits.
Verstappen has been the dominant force in F1 since 2022, capitalising on Red Bull’s return to pre-eminence upon F1 reverting to ground effect cars once more.
The Dutchman has continued his relentless winning charge at the beginning of this campaign, taking three victories and pole position in each of the four rounds.
Verstappen rebounded from his retirement in Australia to register a third consecutive success in Japan, leading home team-mate Sergio Perez in a Red Bull 1-2.
Horner believes Verstappen is operating at the top of his game, divulging how he has the mental reserve to process the gap to the car two positions behind him.
“I think he’s in great shape,” he said. “He’s changed trainer over the winter [to Carlos Sainz’s ex-trainer, Rupert Manwaring], he’s fit, he’s lean. And the car’s in a great window.
“You can hear the spare capacity he has in the car. He’s wanting to know about not just who is behind him, but who is behind him as well, what lap times are they doing.
“The capacity he has is very impressive. So yeah. The form that he had last year has just carried through.”
Asked whether Verstappen had 20 per cent in reserve to deliver when he gets a stronger challenge, Horner replied: “He’s become very astute at managing the tyre.
“The way that he managed to extend the tire life is very impressive, we saw that in the first stint, the second stint, he did a very good job as well.
“So yeah, he’s got a very wise head on still pretty young shoulders.”
Despite Red Bull securing a front row lockout at Suzuka, Verstappen had been cautious about the Austrian outfit’s race pace compared to Ferrari through practice.
But while Ferrari recovered to third and fourth, Carlos Sainz trailed 20 seconds behind Verstappen in the Italian marque’s leading car, with Charles Leclerc 6s back.
“It’s normal, that’s racing. We’ve been talking about that for 20 years in Formula 1,” Horner said when asked about his driver’s concerns heading into the grand prix.
“But I think the engineering team have done a great job this weekend. Max has been outstanding, Checo has been outstanding.
“It’s the perfect way to bounce back after the disappointment of Australia.”
Red Bull’s maximum points haul has seen it open the margin to Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship up to 21 points, with McLaren situated 72 points behind.
Meanwhile, Verstappen retains a 13-point advantage over team-mate Perez in the Drivers’ Championship, with the Ferrari duo snapping at the heels of the Mexican.
