Horner honoured by Verstappen's gesture: 'You could see he was touched'

Max Verstappen was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau and had to make a speech. Christian Horner was impressed by his driver and honoured to be there.

On Thursday, Verstappen had to pass by Amsterdam before he went to Zandvoort. There he was knighted by Conny Helder, the Minister for Sport. His mother Sophie, girlfriend Kelly, sister Victoria and manager Raymond Vermeulen were present on behalf of Verstappen, but Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were also allowed to be present at this special moment.

An honour for Verstappen

After Verstappen was knighted, he also had to make a speech. According to Horner, Verstappen did an excellent job of expressing his gratitude. ''For Max this is a wonderful honour. You could see he was touched and honoured. He is a great ambassador for the country and the fact that he has already achieved this at this age is extraordinary'', the Red Bull team boss said to The Telegraph.

While it was an honour for Verstappen, Horner also felt honoured to be present at this moment together with Marko. ''It feels like a privilege. We're very proud of him at Red Bull Racing '', the Brit proudly announced. According to Horner, the whole of the Netherlands can be proud of him and he hopes to achieve many more great things with his pupil.