Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admits Max Verstappen’s promotion was necessary to kill off interest from rival teams.
Verstappen has replaced Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull, with the Russian driver dropping back down to Toro Rosso for the rest of the season. While Horner admits it was “harsh” to replace Kvyat, he says the move was made with Red Bull’s “longer term options” regarding its driver line-up in mind.
“Make no mistake about it, [Verstappen] is one of the hottest properties in Formula One at this present time,” Horner said. “It’s only natural that other teams will show interest in a driver that’s demonstrating his kind of ability and talent. I think this move also kills off the driver market regarding Red Bull drivers, certainly for the foreseeable future.”
In testing Verstappen against Daniel Ricciardo, Horner acknowledges there could be tension between the two drivers but he believes Ricciardo is currently the best driver in the sport.
“We’ve had difficult relationships within our team before, it’s nothing new … you tend to get it when you’ve got two quick ones. I don’t see it being an issue, I think he’s growing as a driver and as a young man as well so when he gains more experience his outlook is going to change on certain things.
“You can see this absolute desire burning within at the moment, competitiveness, and a huge amount of talent. And of course he’s going up alongside one of the very best drivers in Formula One as a benchmark, which is Daniel Ricciardo. I think the way Daniel is driving at the moment I don’t think there’s a better driver in Formula One at the moment.”
And Horner says he is excited by the potential within Red Bull’s new driver line-up as a result.
“I think you always want to put your best foot forward and have the most competitive driver lineup you can possibly have. A Ricciardo-Verstappen line-up, for me, potentially is one of, if not the, strongest pairing of future years. Of course that depends on how things pan out and develop, and with the regulation change coming for next year and with power units hopefully converging, that provides some great opportunities for this team over the next couple of seasons.”
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