Verstappen confident of toppling Hamilton in 2020 championship fight

Max Verstappen still believes he can challenge Lewis Hamilton for the 2020 Formula 1 title despite trailing the Mercedes driver by 37 points after six races.

Verstappen has only won one race so far this season but it is his consistency that has kept him in the title race, the Dutchman standing on the podium at each grand prix since retiring from the season opener.

Should he claim the title this time around, Verstappen would become the youngest champion in F1 history, and when questioned about his chances, the Red Bull driver said: "I do believe in it.

"Of course, for next year as well, it might get a bit complicated because of course the rules are still the same and you’re not allowed to change a lot on the cars.

"But then, of course, there are new rules coming in and it’s a new opportunity for everyone."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also gave Verstappen's 2020 title credentials the vote of confidence as he knows the RB16 has the potential to beat Mercedes.

Currently second in the standings on 95 points to Hamilton's 132, Verstappen admitted Mercedes has simply been the better team in the early stages of the season, although he cannot point out what specifically the German team has done better than Red Bull.

He added: "It’s obviously difficult to say why. Everybody’s doing their very best. Clearly they had a very good winter, Mercedes. They also find a lot of performance out of their engine. That meant we were a bit behind.

"We’re just trying to do the best we can, everybody is of course. We’ll see what the rest of this season will bring. They are still of course a far way ahead but we don’t give up. I think that’s the mentality of the team, we will always keep fighting and go for every opportunity we have."

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