Max Verstappen 's quality was evident during last weekend's dominant win in the Spanish Grand Prix - with boss Christian Horner picking up little signs he is "on another level".
The Dutchman took pole position and then cruised off into the sunset in Catalunya, eventually picking up a third straight victory to extend his lead at the top of the world championship. During practice Verstappen made an interesting comment over the team radio.
He was able to pick up that a phone was ringing in the garage before sussing, via the ringtone, that it was the phone belonging to the team's advisor Helmut Marko. The Dutchman said: "Someone's phone is going" before adding "Is that Helmut's?"
Verstappen's pace was clear throughout the weekend as he topped every session before taking the 25 points. It was at the Spanish Grand Prix that the world champion took his first win on his Red Bull debut seven years ago, but Horner has been able to watch his development, citing his keen ear as an example.
He said: "I think in 2016 he was very raw. He was incredibly fast, hugely, and naturally talented. He still has that natural speed and tremendous ability. But I think what he has now is the experience, roundedness and the [mental] capacity. When he's recognising Helmut Marko's phone ringing from within the car, he's just got this added bandwidth that has put him on another level, and I think the exciting thing about him is he's still getting better."
Verstappen is closing in on a third straight world title having seen off Lewis Hamilton in 2021 before romping to another championship last year. Red Bull have won every race so far this season and their lead driver is happy with their performance: "We had another strong weekend and that's what I like to see from myself and the team, so hopefully we can keep that up throughout the year."
Both Mercedes drivers joined Verstappen on the podium with Hamilton finishing second ahead of George Russell. The Silver Arrows brought improvements to the Spanish Grand Prix, which allowed them to make leads forward in the race.
But Marko does not see them as a threat. "The updates have only brought about a change," he said. "No arrogant intention, but they have not really come closer. They have gone in a different direction. That in turn is good for us, because our lead in the championship is increasing with every race."
Horner echoed that sentiment as he said: “Well it was still 23 seconds behind at the end of the race! They made a good step, but we’ve got some stuff in the pipeline, they’ve had a big upgrade, we’ve got some bits coming later into the season."
