Christian Horner says Max Verstappen isn’t immune to pressure as he isn’t a robot

Christian Horner thinks Verstappen felt immense relief with his F1 home win, implying only a robot could handle that pressure.

Christian Horner says Max Verstappen isn’t immune to pressure as he isn’t a robot

Max verstappen, Sergio Perez and Christian Horner (Via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen celebrated his third consecutive win from the pole position at his home Grand Prix at Zandvoort Circuit. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin joined the Dutchman in second place and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in third. Verstappen, despite having the fastest car, had to overcome the pressure of tackling ever-changing weather conditions and continuing his domination at the track.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claims that the weight of expectation was certainly impacting the two-time world champion in his home track. He told Motorsports.com, “Oh, of course, you’d be a robot not to [feel the weight of expectation]. And you could see in his face, you’ve got 100,000 Dutch men and women singing the national anthem.”

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“That’s a big moment for him, for any national driver, and I think that he’s got the royal family here, coming to see him just before he steps into the car. He’s got so much expectation. You have to feel that, and I think it must be a huge relief for him when he leaves the circuit tonight [Sunday] that he’s ticked that box,” he added.

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Despite Verstappen’s modest approach to rewriting F1 history, Horner is convinced that he’s achieving remarkable feats in 2023, suggesting Verstappen is likely quietly proud of his accomplishments. Verstappen’s ninth consecutive victory had made him stand on par with Sebastian Vettel for the most F1 consecutive wins record.

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Christian Horner dismisses the intentional undercut of Sergio Perez

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The Dutch Grand Prix’s early downpour led to swift strategic decisions, with Sergio Perez taking the lead by opting for intermediate tires. However, Verstappen gained an advantage over Perez during the switch back to slicks. Stopping a lap later, Perez lost the lead to Verstappen, who had rapidly closed the gap on the intermediate tires.

Perez’s quick decision-making didn’t yield a position gain due to Verstappen’s undercut. Speculation arose about Red Bull’s intentions, but Horner clarified they hadn’t intended for the position swap, especially not to make history with a ninth consecutive win. Verstappen’s unexpectedly rapid out-lap speed played a role in this outcome.

“The risk was for Checo because Max was catching at, I think, seven seconds in three laps. His out-lap was so extreme that it took us slightly by surprise that Max jumped Checo. So just so much happening in very, very variable conditions,” Horner said.

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