Christian Horner believes that Max Verstappen is the best driver in Formula 1, claiming that George Russell’s performance in the Mercedes at the Sakhir Grand Prix “confirmed” it for him.
Verstappen earned two victories during the 2020 season and finished third in the drivers’ standings, while Lewis Hamilton won his seventh world championship, winning 11 of the 16 races he competed in.
However, Horner thinks that the way Russell was able to adapt to the Mercedes and reach a similar level to that at which Hamilton had been competing gives the Dutchman the edge.
Asked who he felt the best driver in the sport was, the Red Bull boss said that while Hamilton and Verstappen stand out, no stand-in driver would reach the 23-year-old’s level of performance.
“I think he is the best, yes,” Horner told RacingNews365. “Russell’s performance at Mercedes confirmed that for me.
“Max and Lewis stand out for me, but while we absolutely should not be blind to all that Hamilton has achieved, he does have access to a good package while Max has to get more and more out of his car.
“You can see that by the fact that a driver from Williams qualified directly on the front row of the grid and almost won the race.
“If someone had to get into Max’s car, if he had coronavirus, they would never reach his level of performance.”