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Christian Horner has hailed Max Verstappen after his drive in China. The Dutchman claimed Red Bull's first podium of the year even though he started the Grand Prix way down in P16.
The start of the race saw him climb nine positions in just two sectors and found himself in second place by lap 11. The performance in the mixed conditions yesterday added to the reputation of the 19-year-old after his driving masterclass in Brazil last year.
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When asked about his thoughts on Verstappen's drive, Horner said: "Remarkable. His first lap in particular was mighty. I saw one of his passing moves where he went down the outside and passed about three cars and it was obvious that he meant business. He emerged from the first lap in sixth or seventh place. It was hugely impressive.
He appears to have almost a sixth sense in the wet. He doesn't seem intimidated by it in any way and he is prepared to explore all of the boundaries of the circuit available to find where the grip is. There's one move he made on the outside of Turn 6 where he just went straight down the outside of about two or three cars and then cut back. It was very, very impressive."
Despite only entering his third season in Formula 1, Horner already thinks Verstappen has earned a spot in the list of wet-weather greats, with some pundits already comparing him to the likes of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
"I think he's right up there," Horner said. "It's not a coincidence, now you can see Brazil wasn't a one-off. Maybe good old Bernie's sprinkler system would be good for us! I think the way he's grown up, driving go-karts in the wet on slick tires and stuff like that, he's developed a real instinct and feeling."
Fergal Walsh
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