Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has urged Max Verstappen to learn from teammate Daniel Ricciardo in order to get his season back on track.
Verstappen has been involved in an accident or made a mistake at all six of this season's grand prix weekends, and the latest in Monaco resulted in him missing out on a shot at victory. Meanwhile, teammate Ricciardo is third in the championship with two wins from six races and more than double the points of his younger teammate.
The head of Red Bull's driver programme Helmut Marko vented his frustration with Verstappen after he crashed out of final practice, and Horner urged the 20-year-old to learn his lesson from the Monaco weekend.
"I think he has a very good teacher in the car next door to him," Horner said when asked if Verstappen would learn from his mistakes. "Max has an abundance of talent and had some harsh lessons this year and I think a modified approach will benefit him."
Asked if he would talk to him, Horner added: "Yes, of course. But you're going to get a thousand different opinions and the only person who can address it and deal with it is Max. This weekend was very painful for him.
"We talk weekly, he'll be in the factory this week, and of course what frustrates him is that he's working harder than ever, feels fitter than ever and it feels like he's just trying a bit too hard at the moment. Of course, when you get into a spiral and try harder I think you just need to hit the reset button."
Verstappen is an unusual talent in F1, having made his debut at the record-breaking age of 17 and won his first race at 18. Horner said it was important to consider Verstappen's age when passing judgement on his recent errors.
"Sure, look Max arrived in F1 very quickly so he is doing his learning in a very public arena and is in a front running car very quickly.
"Most guys would have gone through some of this in the lower formulas that you wouldn't have even seen, whereas he is having to deal with it in a very public arena. I'm sure he will emerge from it on the other side."
