The Formula 1 debut of Max Verstappen was arguably the most talked about event for not only 2016 but the years to come as well. The young Dutchman appeared fearless to the outside world while still in his late teens. But in reality, he was a 17-year-old, who was under a great deal of pressure. Verstappen had impressed Red Bull’s top management while driving for Toro Rosso, so in 2016, he was promoted to the main team. In his first race for RBR, Verstappen became the youngest race winner, all because of the team’s confidence in him. Since then, we have seen the Dutchman bag two championships. However, it is only recently that we got to know what the prodigy was thinking ahead of that magical Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen was trying to gain notoriety back in 2016, but it was only a matter of time before the Dutchman was seen standing at the top step of the podium. In Spain, the Dutchman held off Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari for the victory thanks to his incredible defense. Destiny seemed to favor the young kid as, during the same race, both Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided, resulting in a DNF for both of them.

In addition to his exceptional skills, Verstappen was only able to handle the extreme pressure due to the 6 words Golden advice team principal, Christian Horner gave him.

As per the NextGen-Auto Verstappen said, “I remember that before the start of the race on the grid, Christian came up to me and said, ‘Just have fun on the track’.”

“I had a lot of fun, but I also felt a lot of pressure, because I was on a two-pit stop strategy and the tyres were dying towards the end. It was really difficult, especially in a car you don’t know very well. [Translated using Google]

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Everyone is aware of Christian Horner’s affection for Max Verstappen. The Briton has done a commendable job of raising the Dutch lion. But recently, he might have gone a little overboard while responding ‘American Max Verstappen’ on the question of how Formula 1 may thrive in America.

Christian Horner now wants an American Max Verstappen

Logan Sargeant will finally fill the void left by the long absence of an American driver from Formula One and will compete alongside Alex Albon for Williams. After numerous unsuccessful attempts, now that the sport has finally made it to the US audience, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner feels that in order to increase public interest in the sport, F1 requires a front-running home driver.

While talking to the New York post, Horner said, “What we need is a young, talented, competitive American driver. Imagine if there was an American Max Verstappen.” 

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While referring to Verstappen, Horner is trying to make the point that the American audience requires a competitive driver that strives for victory. However, given Williams’ performance from the previous year, it is tough to make that claim.

The Briton added, “It’s great to have him there and he’s a talented young guy [but] he’s going to be limited in what he can do. The problem is, if you’re finishing 14th or 15th it doesn’t really turn people on.”

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This year, the orange army will once again be hoping to see Max Verstappen in the same lethal form that he showed last year. However, with the wind tunnel penalty haunting the team, it’ll be fascinating to see how the Austrian outfit copes with the impending hurdles.