Verstappen 'maturity' revealed via Leclerc "cat and mouse" - Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Max Verstappen's growing maturity came to the fore with his handling of the thrilling battle with Charles Leclerc in Saudi Arabia.

Verstappen bounced back from his bitter disappointment in the season-opening race in Bahrain, where his RB16 sustained a late fuel system issue that forced him into retirement, to take victory in Jeddah.

As was the case in the curtain-raising event, Verstappen found himself locked in combat with Ferrari driver Leclerc as they were involved in a captivating duel, with both drivers seeking to use DRS to gain a tactical advantage.

"I thought it was a very mature drive by Max," said Horner. "He looked after the tyres in the race and made sure he got tyres left to him at the end of the grand prix.

"He worked things out, there was a bit of cat and mouse going on at the DRS line but then he worked out where he needed to be and nailed the pass and just had enough to hold Charles off."

Red Bull eye season potential

F1 is racing to an all-new set of technical regulations this year with a wide variety of solutions to the new challenges on display.

After joining Ferrari at the front in the early races, Horner is confident the team has "potential" to again challenge for title honours this season.

"You can see there is a big variance in the interpretation of the rules and we have come up with a creative solution," said Horner.

"It gives us good potential for the season ahead so to get the early victory is fantastic for the whole team."

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