Horner believes Gasly will get there eventually

Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen has adapted better to the new Red Bull car than his new teammate Pierre Gasly as the Frenchman searches for his first statement performance at his new team.

Gasly joined Red Bull from junior team Toro Rosso but has failed to live up to expectations finishing 11th in Australia and eighth in Bahrain. Meanwhile, Verstappen has finished third and fourth respectively leaving him third in the standings going into the Chinese Grand Prix.

Red Bull started the new season with a Honda engine for the first time and they have exceeded expectations despite Gasly’s tough start. Horner believes Verstappen has handled the car very well and it is a matter of time before the Frenchman does too.

"I think ours is a difficult car right now our operating window seems quite narrow and Max has learned to handle this very well. I certainly think it was more difficult for Pierre, but it will come, I'm sure of it,” said Horner.

Since winning four titles between 2010 and 2013 Red Bull have struggled to keep up with the development of the top two and Horner compared their development to Ferrari.

“We must try to understand what our strengths and weaknesses are compared to Ferrari, it is quite important,” he added.