Horner amazed by 'insane' and 'truly impressive' Verstappen after taking pole as a brand-new father

The Dutchman was not present on Thursday's media day in Florida due to girlfriend Kelly Piquet giving birth to a baby girl, making Verstappen a father.

On Friday, the news was officially announced that Lily Verstappen-Piquet was born, with Verstappen returning to the paddock on Friday for practice and sprint qualifying.

Then, just a day later, he showed his class and pace once again to put his RB21 onto pole position in qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix, his third P1 of the season.

It was a lap and perfoemance that even Horer did not see coming, stunned at what the 27-year-old did once again.

"Well, I think like any great sportsman, man or woman, it's those big pressure moments," the team boss started by saying to Sky Sports.

"As I say, when you get to Q3, that's where the pressure is. He just steps up to the plate and has done it again, which Japan, less than a tenth, Saudi, a hundredth, here, six hundredths. I mean, it's insane the margins that we're dealing with," continued Horner.

The Brit also had a bit to say on the fact that Verstappen is now a father.

"You can see, he's walking a step higher, and becoming a father and welcoming a beautiful little girl into the world, that's a massive thing for him. But, as we see time and time again, when he crosses that line into the garage and puts his crash helmet on, everything disappears; his ability to focus and just deliver is insane. It's really, truly impressive," concluded Horner.