Speaking to reporters in London ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, Christian Horner says that on current form, Max Verstappen is the best driver out there.

"As the driver in the form of his life, arguably over the past 12 months he's been the best driver in the world," said the Briton. "How do I substantiate that? He's not in the best car, but when you look at the results he's got out of that car since Montreal last year, some of the performances he's put in, he's made virtually zero mistakes in that period.

"It's only natural that there's always the next generation coming," he continued. "Lewis has the benefit of experience, he's still extremely quick, he's in the best car, in a very well-oiled machine. Max is very much the coming man. Wouldn't it be fantastic for the sport to see those guys go head-to-head?

"Max is a big asset for us and we’ve got to deliver him a car that he can compete for the world championship with," he admitted.

Horner also believes that since the departure of Daniel Ricciardo to Renault, Verstappen has stepped up to the plate in terms of being the de facto team leader.

"Daniel is such a big character, with a big sense of humour," he said "And Max always outside of the car came a little bit within Daniel's shadow, the jokey younger brother.

"But since Daniel has left, Max has assumed the role of the senior driver within the team and the responsibility that goes with that. There's a different level of maturity, of direction and sense of purpose with him. That has really rounded the package with him."