Boring dominance? Horner defends 'metronome' Verstappen

SHANGHAI: Red Bull boss Christian Horner rejected suggestions Max Verstappen had made Formula One boring after the triple world champion took his domination to new heights in China at the weekend.

The Dutch 26-year-old's first win in Shanghai sent him 25 points clear of Mexican teammate Sergio Perez after five races and was his fourth win of the season. He has also started all five from pole position.

Verstappen has now won half of all the races held since Formula One last raced in China, in April 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

McLaren's Lando Norris, runner-up on Sunday (Apr 21), told reporters earlier that the sport was witnessing a greater dominance than ever and "the only exciting races have been the ones that Max is not in.

"If you see the same driver winning every single time without a fight then of course it does start to become boring and that is obvious."

Horner said Verstappen's performances needed to be appreciated.

"Max is a special talent and it's a golden moment for him," he told reporters.

"As we've seen with every single driver it doesn't last forever and I think it's enjoying the moment, being in the moment and there's no guarantees that we'll be able to give him a car like this every year for the next five years.

"It's doing what you can, while you can.

"He's just like a metronome. The pace that he showed last year, he's just continued that through," continued Horner, whose team also won four straight titles with Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013.

"Since the last Chinese Grand Prix, he's won 50 per cent of all the races. He's won 21 of the last 23 races. He's in fantastic form, at one with the car and at one with the team and enjoying his racing."

Horner said there was "no ambiguity" about where Verstappen