Verstappen in 'that club' with Senna and Hamilton

Red Bull chief Horner claims his driver's fourth, and most challenging, world title puts him in same class as the greats

- Giles Richards

What I have witnessed with him, I have never seen before," says Max Verstappen's team principal, Christian Horner, expressing a quiet conviction in his driver on securing a fourth consecutive Formula One world championship.

Horner, chief executive of Red Bull Racing, believes Verstappen, who claimed the title in Las Vegas, is setting new standards and has now unequivocally taken his place in the pantheon of Formula One.

After a season-long demonstration of skill, race craft, and ruthless determination to close out what has been his most challenging championship yet, Verstappen has earned the plaudits.

Horner puts Verstappen's campaign in 2024 alongside some of the greats. "You think back to races like Ayrton Senna at Donington in 1993 or some of the Michael Schumacher drives, some of Lewis's greatest drives, Max is firmly in that club," he says. "This year it has been very, very taxing for him but he has kept his head. He is a complete driver now, this year has really demonstrated that he really is the complete package."