Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner has praised Max Verstappen's performance at the Canadian Grand Prix as he worked his way from a poor qualifying position to finish fifth in Montreal.
After qualifying 11th because of Kevin Magnussen's crash in Q2, Verstappen started ninth due to penalties to Magnussen and Carlos Sainz giving him a better chance at hunting down those in front of him. Despite being overtaken early on by Lando Norris, the Dutchman managed to finish fifth after doing a long stint on the hard tyres.
The recovery Verstappen made is evidence of the maturity he has shown in 2019 and his principal Horner credited the performance of Verstappen.
"Another strong race and a good recovery drive for Max today progressing from ninth to fifth,” Horner said as quoted by The Chequered Flag.
“He lost quite a bit of time in the early laps clearing traffic but running long on the hard tyre was a strategy that worked well.
“He managed a small brake issue in the last few laps but finished the race comfortably in P5.”
Verstappen's positive drive was in contrast to Pierre Gasly's who started fifth and finished eighth.
Follow GPblog now on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook!