Verstappen targets Red Bull wins towards end of season

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Max Verstappen says that he's hoping Red Bull will be in a position to content for victories toward the end of 2017.

Currently the team is still a long way off in terms of performance to front runners Ferrari and Mercedes. Verstappen's best result was third place in China, but he's also had two DNFs in the first six races.

Aware that the team's TAG Heuer-badged Renault engine currently doesn't have the speed necessary to contend for a win, the Dutch teenager said he hopes that will change over the summer.

“At the moment that's still not the case, we have to focus race by race if we can improve on the car," he told Crash.net this week.

“We need more grip on the car. As soon as we have more grip then even if the car drives a bit differently I'll adapt to the situation. I think that's the key.”

Asked what would constitute a successful outcome for the season, Verstappen replied: "If we close the gap, and that we're fighting for victories at the end of the season."

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Even though Verstappen is aware that it will be too soon to vie for victory next weekend in Canada, he's still looking forward to the race.

"There is always a big crowd at the Canadian Grand Prix, especially at turns one and two," he said. "You can feel the atmosphere when you’re in the car.

"One of my favourite points on the track is also one of the trickiest - and that’s the last chicane.

"You arrive at the braking point at very high speed and the brakes can be quite cold," he explained. "It’s tricky to really nail this corner.

"It’s always good when you come out in front. There are also tight walls on the exit of the chicane. You should be careful not to brush these as it is easy to damage a wheel rim.

"As usual the cars will run slightly less downforce in Canada so they will be a little looser under braking.

"But we have more grip this year, so it should be more comfortable for everyone compared to 2016."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.