Purple Bull Method 1 workforce principal Christian Horner has revealed Max Verstappen was “extra delicate” to the criticism of his aggressive driving than he let on in public.
In Las Vegas Verstappen clinched his fourth straight title with two rounds remaining, having been the standout driver in 2024 driving a Purple Bull that started dominant however wasn’t the quickest automobile for a big a part of the season.
Verstappen got here beneath stress from closest challenger Lando Norris, with the pair preventing a sequence of intense wheel-to-wheel battles.
They tangled in Austria, which terminally broken Norris’ McLaren and landed Verstappen a 10-second penalty earlier than the Dutchman caught flak for varied aggressive strikes towards the Briton in Austin and Mexico.
Verstappen appeared to brush off any criticism from media, followers and his friends on the time, however in line with his workforce boss he was extra affected than it appeared.
“He is extra delicate than you assume,” Horner mentioned. “Inevitably he is conscious of the criticism and a few of it, I feel, could be very unfounded.
Race winner Max Verstappen, Purple Bull Racing, Christian Horner, Group Principal, Purple Bull Racing
Picture by: Purple Bull Content material Pool
“He is a driver that drives aggressively; he is an attacking driver. However so was [Ayrton] Senna, so was [Michael] Schumacher, so was [Lewis] Hamilton, they usually all got here beneath the identical type of highlight at varied occasions of their careers.”
Verstappen and Purple Bull dragged themselves via a tough second half of the marketing campaign, wherein the hunter turned the hunted and Verstappen and his workforce dug deep to develop their approach out of the RB20’s crippling dealing with issues throughout a 10-race winless spell.
Together with the criticism he handled, that all-out effort to carry off Norris and McLaren goes a way in direction of explaining Verstappen’s emotional launch on the chequered flag in Vegas.
“It actually means an enormous quantity to him,” Horner added. “He is not a man that fame sits comfortably with. He does not [crave] adulation. He simply loves driving quick automobiles.
“Behind the scenes, he was placing a large quantity of effort in with the engineers and designers and on the simulator, and greater than in any of the earlier years.
“The best way he is carried out himself, the best way he is labored with the engineers and all of the technical employees has been phenomenal.
“He is been head and shoulders the perfect driver on the grid in Method 1. And what he is actually executed this yr has completely cemented his place amongst the greats within the sport.”
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