Verstappen progress still impressing F1 paddock

Jul.10 (GMM) Max Verstappen is continuing to impress the F1 paddock with his meteoric rise to F1 stardom.

Five races after winning on debut for Red Bull after his Toro Rosso switch, the 18-year-old finally out-qualified his teammate Daniel Ricciardo on Saturday.

Australian Ricciardo said at Silverstone that the outcome "sucks".

"It's always hard to be beaten by your teammate," he admitted.

Max's father, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, told Brazil's Globo: "I think he is now starting to explore the car better than before."

Chief engineer Paul Monaghan agreed: "Max is working better with the engineers now."

And team boss Christian Horner added: "We see now that Max is gaining more confidence with a flying lap and is working better with the engineers to get more out of the car for himself.

Even the F1 legends agree, with Sir Jackie Stewart declaring ahead of the British grand prix that Verstappen is "the best driver who has arrived in F1 for many years".

And 1996 world champion Damon Hill added: "What strikes me most is the confidence he has at such a young age and with such little experience.

"We'll see him at the top in formula one for many years."