Red Bull ace Max Verstappen says he doesn’t want to settle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship as he looks to close the gap on Lewis Hamilton. The Dutchman boasts two race victories this season and is one of only three drivers on the grid to have claimed a chequered flag.

He currently sits third in the standings, seven points shy of Valtteri Bottas in second, and 69 adrift of leader Lewis Hamilton.

The Mercedes pair were well ahead of the rest of the field during the early stages of the campaign but Verstappen, who is priced at 13.00 to win the Drivers’ Championship, came back fighting before the summer break.

Victories in Austria and Germany boosted his chances of crashing the party, while he was only denied a triumph in Hungary after a stunning performance from Hamilton. Verstappen has never finished higher than fourth in the Drivers’ Championship and he is on course to achieve a career-high haul of points.

But he insists it will all be in vain if he doesn’t manage to catch Hamilton in the race for the world title. Verstappen said: “When I look back on my career in twenty years, I will not be proud of to have become vice-world champion.

“What would it change? Yes, you are the second best, but I don’t care. Everything revolves around first place. Perhaps other people think differently, but for me it is all about winning”. He will get the opportunity to close the gap further when the season resumes with the Belgian Grand Prix on August 30.