(Motorsports news) Starting from sixth place in Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen passed teammate Sergio Perez for the lead on lap 17 and went on to win the race handily, leaving Perez 22 seconds in the dust and Red Bull’s closest rival Charles Leclerc 32 seconds back. Verstappen’s domination over Perez and the ease with which he achieved his eighth consecutive race win demonstrate Horner that F1 is witnessing something special, even though Red Bull has utterly destroyed the competition in 2023, with its RB19 winning all 12 races so far.

“In my opinion, everyone felt superior at the time. It has generally been excellent,” Horner remarked. And what we are currently watching with Max is something that only happens once every generation. When asked what Verstappen can accomplish with the Red Bull that Perez can’t, Horner responded, “Like all the great drivers, he just has that extra capability. Verstappen is on the fast track to winning his third consecutive drivers’ world championship.

“What we’re experiencing and seeing with him right now is his ability to read a race, read a tyre, and take every single bit of information from it. It’s wonderful to see. He may currently be in peak form, in my opinion. When asked if Verstappen still manages to catch him off guard with his performance, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko responded, “Well, if you are eight-tenths ahead in qualifying, then you know there is still some reserve and some extra space.

“However, it’s also about how modern and sophisticated his driving is. He considers every overtaking maneuver and has exceptional race reading skills. You can also hear that in these chats he has with his race engineer.

“What he is currently displaying is remarkable, but that is true of the entire squad. The strategy is sound, there are almost no pitstops that take longer than 2.5 seconds, and so far there have been no technical problems, so the entire team is doing an amazing job.

Verstappen leads Perez by 189 points going into the summer break in Formula One, and the Dutchman has the mathematical ability to clinch his third world championship as early as the Japanese Grand Prix in September, just like he did in 2022.

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