Christian Horner commended his star driver Max Verstappen who he claims has grown from his first Formula 1 Championship in 2021 to win his second in succession at Suzuka on Sunday.
It took everyone some time to realize that Max Verstappen became a double F1 Champion after winning the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, due to confusion around how points would be awarded after the shortened race.
In the end what could’ve been confirmed at Austin, the upcoming race, was set in stone in Japan, and the Dutchman was announced as the 2022 F1 World Champion.
“We thought it wasn’t going to be full points awarded,” Horner reflected , speaking to the media after the race on Sunday.
“We thought we’re a one point short. We were looking at pitting him for the fastest lap and so on. But wow, that is beyond all our dreams.”
Verstappen has won 12 races this season, and with Sergio Perez’s wins at Monaco and Singapore, that means Red Bull’s 2022 tally of wins is 14, a record for Milton Keynes.
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Verstappen truly dominant
“Look Max has been truly dominant,” Horner insisted. “And it’s our 14th victory that’s a record for us as a team. I think that the way he’s driven you know, for the first race, we came back after some difficulties in the first couple of races.
“But honestly, he, the team have just raised it to another level and incredibly proud of everything that he’s done everything that the team… everybody.
“All the men and women back in Milton Keynes have gone way and beyond under massive pressure, and to achieve this championship is truly special,” the Red Bull boss maintained.
Red Bull were busy in 2021 fighting for the Championship till the last minute, but that did not stop them from delivering a beast of car in the form of the RB18, built to the new regulations.
Horner hailed that achievement; he said: “The car, the way we adapted to the new regulations, I think the engineering team, I think that it’s been a phenomenal performance by everybody involved.
“Max has I think grown from that first World Championship the way he’s driven,” he added. “The way he’s operated this year has just been at another level and all respect to him because he truly deserves this championship.”
Adrian Newey speaks of Verstappen and the season
The genius behind Verstappen’s cool ride this year, Adrian Newey, spoke of his team’s season so far while pointing out the Dutchman’s dominance.
“We’ve obviously had a good run,” he told Sky Sports F1. “Ferrari have had a very quick car and early on, in many races, they were probably a bit quicker.
“But I think we’ve managed to round out the performance from the car and tried to get it working at all circuits. We’ve obviously had a good run since the summer break.
“Max has been absolutely superb this year,” Newey pointed out. “In the traffic in Singapore he made a little mistake, but apart from that he’s made no mistakes and he’s always had the speed.
“He thoroughly deserves all the success he’s having this year,” the Red Bull chief technical officer concluded.
(Additional reporting by Agnes Carlier)
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