Red Bull chief Horner puts Verstappen in pantheon of greats

Red Bull’s Christian Horner says his driver is in same class as Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, center, celebrates winning the Formula 1 championship with his team after the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix auto race, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

"What I have witnessed with him, I have never seen before,” says Max Verstappen’s team principal, Christian Horner, expressing a quiet conviction in his driver on securing a fourth consecutive Formula One world championship.

Horner, chief executive of Red Bull Racing, believes Verstappen, who claimed the title in Las Vegas, is setting new standards and has now unequivocally taken his place in the pantheon of Formula One. After a season-long demonstration of skill, race craft, and ruthless determination to close out what has been his most challenging championship yet, Verstappen has earned the plaudits.