Horner feels frustrated with Verstappen: 'He hasn't enjoyed this weekend'

Max Verstappen's second place in the race limited the damage in Portugal, where Mercedes seemed just a little bit better than Red Bull Racing all weekend. Christian Horner is happy with Max's performance, although he also saw some frustrations surface.

Mercedes just strong

It was a messy weekend for Verstappen in Portimao. From the very first minute, things didn't work out for the Dutchman, who said he would be visiting his dentist at the end of the weekend because of the intense vibrations. Red Bull had little grip on the cold Portugal tarmac and appeared to be suffering more than the competition.

According to Horner Mercedes was much faster on the hard tyre. On the medium tyre Verstappen kept up a good fight with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, but on the hard tyre, Hamilton managed to pull the gap to the Dutchman. Horner is therefore very impressed that Verstappen finished second.

Verstappen excels

''Max did exceptionally well, especially by passing Hamilton on the restart. Then Max had a moment of his own. He lost the spot again to Lewis, but Sunday was really about the 'marginal gains. It was once again very close between Mercedes and ourselves, which in itself is encouraging'', Horner told Motorsport.com.

''Max has not really enjoyed this weekend. He was a bit frustrated about the lack of grip and the conditions, although of course they are the same for everyone. But in Barcelona we will probably get a better picture. All the teams have a lot of data from that circuit. Barcelona also has a good mix of fast and slow corners, which should make the picture a bit clearer'', concludes Red Bull Racing's team principal.