Red Bull boss Horner on Verstappen’s character: ‘He’s pushing us, we’re pushing him’

Christian Horner has no problem with Max Verstappen’s angry comments at the start of this season. Especially after the Australian Grand Prix, the Dutchman could not hide his disappointment.

Verstappen has already retired twice in the first stage of this season. He won all the races he finished. So the car is there, just as in 2021. The RB18 is probably better than last year’s car. However, the frustrations at Verstappen were already high several times in 2022. For Horner, Red Bull’s boss, there is no need to worry.

Horner on Verstappen’s reaction

against Motorsport.com Horner, who wants to win the title with Verstappen again this season, says the team and driver have the same goal. Everyone on the team knows what level they need to reach to reach that level. “We’re a team and we do it together. We push him and he pushes us, that’s the team dynamics. I don’t think after last year, when we competed until the last race, we expected to be very competitive early in the season.”

Title fight 2022

In 2022, the title fight will not be between Mercedes and Red Bull, but between Ferrari and Red Bull. Ferrari has made big strides, while Mercedes has fallen back. Red Bull appears to have remained stable despite rule changes and a new car. Horner is happy with that and is looking forward to the rest of the title fight. “I think it’s [Verstappen en Leclerc] Sit close to each other. I think it’s just about putting together the best race possible. And there remains a long way to go. It’s very exciting with Ferrari. There were great duels and you can see that there was a lot of respect between Charles and Max. They enjoy racing with each other, you can see that. I was actually hoping we wouldn’t have another competitive year like last, but it looks like it could go all the way to the end again now.”