Verstappen “never panicked” on way to F1 title despite Red Bull deficit

Pink Bull crew principal Christian Horner has recommended Max Verstappen’s work ethic and way of thinking after the Dutch driver clinched the 2024 Method 1 title regardless of his automobile’s struggles.

Pink Bull’s season bought off to a flying begin with Verstappen profitable six of the primary 9 grands prix, main 1-2s in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Nevertheless, Verstappen subsequently went by way of a nine-round winless streak – which was unprecedented for him because the 2020 season – as McLaren surged to the entrance of the sector whereas Ferrari and Mercedes contended for race wins as nicely.

“It nearly felt like one thing modified dramatically,” Horner defined to Autosport in an end-of-season interview. “Abruptly three different groups grew to become aggressive, and we all of a sudden began to expertise some points that grew to become very limiting.

“Then it was a query of ‘after which your instruments do not correlate with what is going on on on monitor’. And that is when the driving force actually turns into a key ingredient.

“And Max by no means panicked. Even on the robust days, he spent the lengthy hours with the engineers actually rolling his sleeves up and getting caught in. Working behind the scenes on the simulator, spending the time with automobile dynamicists and aerodynamicists simply speaking by way of ‘OK, that is the place you might want to focus, that is the place the important thing situation is with this one’, based mostly on what he is feeling.

“When your instruments do not tie in with the circuit, the perfect sense of that you have is the driving force. And that is the place Max was vastly spectacular this yr – the management that he impressed from throughout the automobile for the path that we wanted to take to deal with among the points.” 

Max Verstappen, Pink Bull Racing RB20, and Oracle Pink Bull Racing Crew Principal Christian Horner

Picture by: Pink Bull Content material Pool

Horner insisted on the essential affect Verstappen had when it comes to technical suggestions when the crew wanted to uncover the supply of the RB20’s woes.

“He’s simply very straight to the purpose of what are the limiting components and what are the traits that the automobile is giving him which can be limiting him from going faster. So, he’ll pinpoint very clearly: ‘That is the place there may be lap time, concentrate on this space.’

“Through the center a part of the season, the instruments weren’t actually correlating with the circuit, and that is the place he needed to play a really key function in giving the engineers the important thing focal areas of the place they wanted to place effort and time to enhance.

“And we have then seen on the again finish of the yr efficiency begin to come again on the automobile.”

Verstappen managed to retain his early benefit within the standings and clinch the title by making fewer errors and proving extra constant than chief rival Lando Norris and different drivers, by no means ending a grand prix outdoors the highest six.

Horner stated his driver’s efficiency was all the way down to his “tenacious driving, technique, and teamwork”.

“What’s actually stood out this yr is the best way that Max has pushed,” the Briton added. “On days that he could not win, he bagged the factors.

“He simply adapts extremely nicely to what he is bought. And what he confirmed, actually, this yr is simply one other stage of maturity and expertise. I believed races that he drove in locations like Zandvoort, Singapore – the times he could not win however was nonetheless bringing residence hard-earned factors – had been extremely essential.”