Horner would 'bet his house' over bold Verstappen claim

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has dared to 'bet hishouse' over his claim that Max Verstappen is "two-to-three secondsfaster" than his F1 rivals with the first lap of each race weekend.The Dutchman romped to a third consecutive Drivers' Championshiplast season with a record-breaking 17 race victories, a year afterinitially breaking the same record with 15 wins. Verstappen's paceout of the box at a Grand Prix weekend has been particularlyimpressive, typically shooting to the top of the timesheetsstraight away on the hardest compound of rubber whilst otherdrivers merely adapt to conditions. Speaking about his driver onthe Secrets of Success podcast, Horner explained: "Max as a personis just a very sweet 26-year-old young man who has a passion forracing and is not very comfortable with the fame and notoriety hehas. He just wants to do his job, race hard and is very honest andstraightforward. "He likes to play FIFA on his PlayStation when heis not in a race car. Outside the car, he's a sweet guy. "When he'sin the car, he's ruthless. I've never met a driver who is as drivenas Max is as soon as he gets in the car. You know you're going toget 110 per cent from him and he expects it back from the team. "Assoon as we start a race weekend, that first lap, which is actuallymeaningless, Max is the driver who is the fastest on the first lap- often two to three seconds faster than the rest. “I dare to betmy house on that. For him, this is a way to show that he isperforming at the peak of his abilities and is the authority, thathe is one with his car." Pressure cooker Horner went further andsuggested Verstappen is so strong in one facet of the sport that hehas yet to have seen such prowess. "Max has the confidence, thetalent, the feeling and the technique to do that, to be able toadapt so quickly," added Horner. "He came to F1 at a very earlyage, without any training in the junior classes. He followed thattraining in public in the Formula 1 arena, where everything you dois studied in detail by everyone. "His mental toughness, thatmental strength in the important moments, whether it is aqualifying, overtaking or an out-lap, is where he shines. I havenot yet seen a driver who can handle the pressure as much asVerstappen when there is so much is at stake."