Verstappen has "work to do" on qualifying pace

Although the Dutch driver has justified his switch to Red Bull with a maiden victory in Spain and second place in Austria last weekend, Horner thinks there are still areas where he can do better.

In particular, he believes the fact that Verstappen's teammate Daniel Ricciardo has outqualified him at every race since they have worked together shows where improvements can come.

“In the last two or three races he [Verstappen] has been very strong,” explained Horner. “He is very good on the tyres and under pressure as well, it doesn't phase him at all.

“He has a bit of work to do on the qualifying side. Daniel is right at the top of his game at that – but it is great to have two drivers so evenly matched who are pushing each other.”

When asked if he believes Verstappen had the ability to make the gains needed, Horner said: “I think it will come with experience.”

Barcelona repeat

Horner was eager to make clear, however, that Verstappen had done a great job in keeping his tyres alive at the Austrian Grand Prix, which allowed him to keep Kimi Raikkonen at bay.

It was a stark reminder of the way that Verstappen had sealed his maiden victory at the Spanish GP in May.

“Max did a great job making that tyre last all those laps,” he said. “Our heart was in our mouth for the last few laps as we knew we had gone through the pins on all the tyres, and there wasn't a lot of rubber left.

“It was quite reminiscent of Barcelona a month or so ago, with the same person behind him. He did a great job. And the yellow flag at Turn 3 helped him out on the last lap.”