28 August 2023 , 11:53
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Red Bull boss Christian Horner doesn't think any other driver in F1 would be able to exert the current dominance of Max Verstappen in an RB19 car.
For the ninth consecutive Grand Prix, the Dutch star took the chequered flag at his home race in Holland on the weekend. Another victory in Italy this weekend will see him surpass the previous marker set by Sebastian Vettel, as his surge towards a third straight world title continues.
The 25-year-old is currently 138 points clear of teammate Sergio Perez in the standings, despite initial hopes among F1 pundits the Mexican could contribute to a two-horse title race. Perez won two of the opening four races in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, but has since struggled to keep pace with the Dutch star.
It's led to speculation over his future with the team, a notion exacerbated by the acquisition of Daniel Ricciardo. And after the race at the Circuit Zandvoort, Horner was asked if the team would be just as dominant if Perez was replaced as the team's No 2.
“Max is in a period of his career where he's simply untouchable," replied the Team Principle. "I don't think there's any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he has been doing in that car.
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"Being his team-mate is probably, in some respects, the most enviable job to have, because the barometer is so high. Checo's pace in the race was strong again today. We saw drivers miss the cut completely yesterday and not even make Q3 when you would have expected them to. It's very, very difficult and what we're witnessing at the moment is a driver who is generational.”
Perez, 33, is currently contracted to Red Bull until the end of the 2024 campaign. But his relationship with Verstappen has been strained ever since the 2022 Brazil Grand Prix, when his more esteemed partner defied team orders and refused to give up a place in order to aid his bid to finish second in the Championship.
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Max Verstappen celebrates his victory at the Dutch Grand Prix (Getty Images)And after the event in Holland was affected by torrential rain, Horner himself had to fend off questions that team orders were again angled to favour Verstappen. Perez had moved into the lead after being the first to switch to intermediate tyres, but it was the champion elect who benefited when it came to the switch back to slicks, with Perez stopping a lap later and losing the lead.
"It was tricky because when you’re the first car, (it is) very hard to make that call," argued Horner. “Checo pulled the trigger, made a great call, got in, the team reacted super fast, we got him back out. We then got Max in immediately, others we were surprised to see stay out.
“And then of course Max started coming through the field so quickly, Checo at the front had pulled a good gap as well and was focused on trying to get a pit stop over the cars behind. So that was pivotal in that first part of getting the calls right.”