Once Red Bull Racing provides Max Verstappen with a race winning car, speculation regarding the Dutchman’s future will calm down. This is the opinion of Christian Horner, the team principal of the Austrian outfit.
A winning car will end Max Verstappen rumours – Christian Horner
“A contract must reflect mutual interest,” said Horner in an interview with Formule 1.”It does not make sense to talk about the longer term because we must first offer him a car that he can win with. I am convinced that once we succeed there will be no team for which he would rather drive.”
Verstappen is under contract with Red Bull until the end of the 2019 Season, and although the team’s form has improved in recent races, Verstappen has had a very poor first half of the 2017 Season when compared to Daniel Ricciardo with reliability problems and a number of first lap incidents meaning that the youngster has retired from five of the first 11 races of the year.
When asked how Verstappen is dealing with a difficult year, Horner replied: “Very maturely, especially when you consider how young he is. In England, Max can’t even rent a car! It’s impressive how he deals with the pressure, expectations and interest, especially from the Netherlands. As a driver he is becoming stronger but also as a human.”
When asked where Verstappen can improve, Horner said that “No one is perfect, so it’s always about improving in small ways. That’s also exactly the way we work as a team. While already at a high level, Max has the same desire to get more and more out of himself.”
This season, Red Bull Racing was expected to be one of the frontrunners on the grid and expected to take the fight to Mercedes. This has not been the case however, with the team only having six podium finishes this season, leaving them third in the Constructors’ Championship, 173 points behind Mercedes who currently lead.
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