Max Verstappen spoke his mind in 2023 more times than F1 likely cares to remember, but Red Bull team boss Christian Horner defended the Dutchman’s outspokenness, calling it refreshing and saying that he doesn’t want his drivers to be “PR robots”.
From his criticism of the sport’s Sprint race format to his negative stance on the Las Vegas Grand Prix to his impassioned words on the direction of the sport in general, Verstappen’s increased candor was evident throughout the year.
His reservations about the race in Vegas which he called a “circus”, saying that it didn’t have the right atmosphere for an F1 race, struck a nerve with Formula 1, but resonated positively with many F1 enthusiasts.
Despite potential disagreements within the F1 community, Christian Horner sees Verstappen's straightforward and honest approach as a commendable quality.
Horner emphasizes the importance of allowing drivers the freedom to express their opinions authentically, steering away from the expectation of conformity and embracing individuality over robotic PR personas.
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"We believe in our drivers having a freedom of choice," Horner told Motorsport.com.
"They're not robots, they have opinions. And Max has a voice as the world champion, and we don't constrain him to give a PR view.
"He's a very honest, young guy and he'll tell you how he sees it. And I think that's actually quite refreshing."
While Verstappen has certainly evolved as a driver since his arrival in Formula 1 in 2015, Horner reckons that his character and personality haven’t changed much since then.
“I think he's changing because he's maturing a little bit, he's got a bit more facial hair these days," the Briton joked. "But no, the essence of who he is [is the same].
“He gets in, he drives the car, drives the wheels off it. He doesn't enjoy all the razzmatazz that surrounds Formula 1, but he never has.
“He does his job professionally. He's just an out-and-out racer and [has his] feet on the ground. And if he's not racing here, he'll be driving a GT car or racing online. He lives and breathes it."
As a three-time world champion with 188 races under his belt and 54 wins, Verstappen is now endowed with a wealth of experience, which has given him the patience and control to navigate races more effectively.
"If you look at the control that he has in races, the way he's reading races, the tyre management that he has: outstanding," commented Horner.
"And he's just using the experience that he's gleaned [from] both racing this year, last year, 2021.
"In many respects, first corners, he's been absolutely more reserved than in the earlier days of his career. His timing has been [excellent]. The way he's played out races, he's not rushed to get it all done in the first couple of laps, he's built his way through a race."
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