“How he should be,” Christian Horner praises Max Verstappen’s ‘hate losing’ attitude

Red Bull started the season as the absolute benchmark of the field. However, as the campaign has progressed, rival outfits have caught up to the Milton Keynes-based squad. This led to Red Bull losing a few races in the first half of the season, which Max Verstappen frowned upon. This hate-losing attitude of the Dutchman was commended by his team principal, Christian Horner, who claimed this attitude to be the differentiating factor between him and others.

Max Verstappen has amassed 61 race wins in his F1 career so far. His most recent victory was in Spain after an intense race-long battle with Lando Norris to the chequered flag. This win led to a chatter within the paddock regarding the winning mentality of the Dutchman, who hates the prospect of even coming second.

Subsequently, Christian Horner explained how this mentality was the reason for the 26-year-old to be a world champion.

Max[Verstappen] hates losing and that's how it should be. Any driver of his caliber that goes 'oh that's ok' doesn't exist.

Christian Horner said in the post-race interview at the Spanish GP

The 50-year-old explained that Verstappen hates to lose and claimed that’s how it should be for a driver of his caliber. He further stated that no driver of his caliber likes to lose and brought back fond memories of Sebastian Vettel‘s reign in Red Bull with his winning mentality.

Is Red Bull in a false sense of relief?

While the Austrian outfit currently leads both the championships, its lead has not been growing at the rate of knots. The Dutchman’s teammate has not been at the sharp end alongside him, costing the team crucial points.

Despite the rising concerns, Horner claimed that they are doing enough at the moment to win both the championships.

But we know where we need to improve, we're getting a better understanding of where our strengths and weaknesses are. We're doing enough at the moment to keep growing that championship lead.

Christian Horner said as quoted by GPBlog

The Brit admitted that the Austrian team knows where they need to improve and focus on. Furthermore, he claimed that now Red Bull has found out the strengths and weaknesses of the RB20 and is thus, on top of its challenges, and is doing enough to extend the lead in the championship.

As it stands, Red Bull has a 60-point lead over Ferrari in the constructor’s standings. However, if things don’t resolve soon in the other end of the garage, then the Austrian squad could be in real trouble heading into the next round of the ongoing triple-header.

In case you missed it:

• Dutch driver claims Sergio Perez’s contract ‘made to be broken’ if Mexican continues to struggle in 2024
• Lando Norris claims he ‘can’t afford’ to let Max Verstappen get away with a massive lead in the standings

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