Some drivers like Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel or Kimi Raikkonen complained about Verstappen's aggressive driving during the year, and the Dutchman's racing style even led to a clarification in the rules to avoid drivers from moving under braking.

But Horner reckons Verstappen is not affected at all by the criticism, saying the 19-year-old is just doing a great job.

"I don't really understand what they are moaning about," said Horner. "He is doing a great job.

"And he is driving the wheels off the car, he is racing hard and sometimes when a new guy comes along and upsets the establishment a bit then they do get a little of criticism.

"But he is not rising to it. He is keeping his head down and just enjoying and getting on with his racing."

Horner feels Verstappen has done nothing wrong when battling against rivals, and believes the Dutchman is just exciting to watch.

"I think anything that destabilises an established pecking order is always not well received," he said. "I don't think he has done anything wrong this year. He has raced hard. He is exciting.

"He is giving it everything every time he is in the car and he loves what he is doing.

"He is passionate about it and you can hear him in Brazil, for example: he just wanted to go racing whereas a lot of others were wanting to park the car."

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble