'Feared' Verstappen ready to take on Hamilton and Vettel

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Max Verstappen is the driver who Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel fear will disrupt the duo's current front-running act in F1 says Red Bull's Christian Horner.

Verstappen and Red Bull-Honda aim to become consistent pace-setters this season and therefore genuine candidates for the title.

While the jury is still out as to whether Honda can deliver the power and reliability that Red Bull needs to race at the front on a regular basis, Verstappen is now a known quantity, and one that Horner believes is ready to join the Hamilton-Vettel party.

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"Max, if you look at his performance in the second half of the [last] year, was the second highest points scorer to Lewis," Horner told Reuters.

"I don't think he lacks anything that they have, if we can provide him the tools to do the job. I think he's probably the driver that they fear the most."

A five-time Grand Prix winner, and the youngest victor on the grid, Verstappen enters his fifth season of F1 as a seasoned and refined talent, and as a driver who greatly matured in 2018 according to his team boss.

"I think his maturity has increased; we saw that during the course of last year. He's just much more rounded through experience," added Horner.

"He's just more worldly, more experienced. He's just in a better place to be able to deal with the pressures that are placed on him."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.