December 10 (Reuters) – Red Bull team boss Christian Horner cast Max Verstappen on Friday as a brave outsider against Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes machine in the fight for the Formula 1 title.
The Dutchman is level on points with the seven-time world champion from Mercedes, but is ahead of the British with 9: 8 in the victories and goes into the decisive showdown at the end of the season on Sunday in Abu Dhabi.
Horner said Hamilton, the most successful driver of all time, “used every tool at his disposal” to put Verstappen under massive pressure and was “aided by the Mercedes media machine”.
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“What you need to know about Max is that he’s just a young lad,” he told reporters.
“He is a 24 year old who drives with courage, passion, skill and determination. He’s just the type of guy who lives his dream and does his job.
“And he not only meets Lewis, but also a huge machine in Mercedes-Benz.”
The Red Bull team belongs to the Austrian energy drink company, a private conglomerate with worldwide sales of 6.3 billion euros (7.11 billion US dollars) last year.
The Mercedes F1 team is owned equally by the parent company Daimler, team principal Toto Wolff and the petrochemical giant Ineos.
Both are well funded and need to cut spending to meet a budget cap of $ 145 million, which is still far more than some competitors have available.
Horner said there was a “very clear story” with Verstappen ahead of Abu Dhabi, in the limelight for his aggressive and uncompromising approach to racing, portrayed as “Mad Max”.
He said Mercedes had more marketing people than Red Bull mechanics and said the German manufacturer was upset about being hit by its outfit.
“When you think of the size of Mercedes around the world … the power they have with the media around the world, I think we pale in comparison,” he said.
“I think the Mercedes Formula 1 team has become a machine during its dominance over the past seven or eight years and has obviously the weight and strength of the parent company behind it.
“I can’t believe that being beaten by an energy drink maker is particularly pleasant.”
Mercedes has won the last seven drivers ‘and constructors’ championships, after Red Bull four times in a row from 2010-13.
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Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Raissa Kasolowsky
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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