Red bull boss aims thinly-veiled dig at hamilton by hailing verstappen

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has lauded F1 Championship leader Max Verstappen - and taken a swipe at Lewis Hamilton in the process. In what has been an enthralling title race thus far,

Verstappen leads the Mercedes driver by just six points in the standings with as many races to go. At 24, the Dutchman is still seeking his first world title while Hamilton, 12 years his

senior, is chasing what would be a record-breaking eighth crown. And in an interview with Channel 4, Horner, who as Team Principal signed the star to Red Bull in 2016, has praised his

dedication. "He has got great self-confidence and he is just a racer. That's all he wants to do. You won't find him at a-lister parties. If he's not in a race car,

he's in a simulator. That's the generation that he is," said Horner. "He's single minded like all top athletes have to be, but he is also a strong team player and

has a huge sense of loyalty. That's what makes him so popular in the team because everyone knows he'll give 110%." JUST IN: JENSON BUTTON PINPOINTS MERCEDES' BIGGEST

MISTAKE AFTER LEWIS HAMILTON TURKISH GP INCIDENT While the comments reflect favourably on Verstappen, they also appear a clear dig at Hamilton, who is no stranger to the spotlight outside

F1. He has made voiceover appearances in Cars 2 and Cars 3, boasts his own clothing line, has much-publicised music interests, and regularly attends the 'A-lister' events Horner

refers to. Only last month, he was at the prestigious Met Gala in New York, where he hosted a table of emerging black designers in the fashion industry. Furthermore, despite F1 teams

investing millions in simulation technologies, the British driver has previously admitted it's not a concept he's keen to embrace. “I hardly ever drive on the simulator,” he once

told Martin Brundle, of Sky Sports. “I maybe do 20 laps a year, maybe. I have no interest in the simulator.” DON'T MISS: Sebastian Vettel addresses retirement plans as former Ferrari

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Bottas victory   Even Horner's description of Verstappen as a "strong team player" can be viewed as taunting Hamilton, with the reigning world champion having had

disagreements with his team in each of the last races. In Turkey, he was furious when with eight laps to go the team ordered him into the pits against his will, with Hamilton adamant he

would be able to finish the race on the same tyres with which he started. He subsequently dropped from third place to fifth, which proved his final finishing position, and afterwards

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff was forced to defend his mechanics for their perceived caution. Two weeks beforehand in Russia, Hamilton had again been unhappy about being called into the pits

late on in the race as rain started to fall, but the decision was vindicated as he duly overtook McLaren's Lando Norris to notch his 100th career win.