Max Verstappen calls on Red Bull to keep pushing in F1 title race

Verstappen holds an 80-point lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (Getty Images)
Verstappen holds an 80-point lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc (Getty Images)

Max Verstappen has called on Red Bull to keep their foot to the floor despite his huge advantage in the Formula 1 title race.

The Belgian-Dutchman, who had to wait until the final race of last season to beat Lewis Hamilton to a first drivers' crown, holds an 80-point lead over Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the summer break.

Despite Ferrari's resurgence at the front of the grid, Verstappen has still won eight races including last time out in Hungary.

Verstappen though is keen to keep pushing when racing resumes - at the Belgian Grand Prix - later this month.

"I think as a team we still want to win more races and that's what we'll definitely try to do and after the break," he said.

The first half of the season has seen Ferrari return to form with Leclerc Verstappen's nearest title challenger.

They were again in the mix in Budapest only for a poor strategy call to cost them a race win with Verstappen emerging from 10th on the grid to take victory.

Given the Ferrari's pace, Verstappen knows there is no room for complacency from his team.

"Of course, we know that our car in general is quick, but I think throughout the race Ferrari was also very fast," he added.

"They just made the wrong call with the hard tyre. It is about choosing the right tyres at the right time. There's still a lot of things we can look into and [that] we can do better.

"Starting 10th and winning the race on a track like this is very, very good, but [there's] a lot of things we will analyse and look into [to see] what we could have done better."