Max Verstappen remains confident that he can win the Formula 1 world championship with Red Bull as he enters the final year of his contract with the squad.

Verstappen is one of a raft of drivers out of contact at the end of 2020, a list which also includes Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, and Daniel Ricciardo.

While that opens possibilities for the young Dutchman going forward he remains confident that Red Bull can deliver him a package capable of the title.

“That’s what I believe, that’s why I’m with the team,” Verstappen said.

“They’ve shown in the past they could do it, so it’s not something which is just wishful thinking.”

Red Bull claimed four successive world championships with Vettel from 2010 to 2013, before the introduction of the current turbo hybrid era.

A turbulent relationship with engine supplier Renault then followed before the squad switched to Honda power for 2019, with Verstappen taking three victories.

Those came in Austria, Germany, and Brazil while two podiums highlighted the opening quarter of the campaign.

“The package this year, in the beginning, it was a bit of a struggle,” Verstappen explained.

“We could not really fight for victories, podiums were also quite hard, so it was all about trying to be as consistent as we could be.

“We just hope that we can be more competitive next year,” he added.

“We know that we have to be competitive from the start and want to be able to fight for the title, so we are putting all our efforts into that.

“It’s not going to be easy, but we’re going to go for it. We’re going to try everything we can.”

Famously impatient, it’s possible the coming season will be his last with Red Bull should it not be in a position to deliver the 22-year-old the championship.

It’s a prospect Verstappen acknowledges but says he hasn’t put much thought into at this stage.

“To be honest, I don’t really think about it too much,” he reasoned.

“I know there are other possibilities of course after next year.

“I have one more year under contract, but I think what is more important is that we just see what happens in the beginning of the season and then from there onwards we’ll see what happens.”

Verstappen ended the 2019 Formula 1 campaign a career best third in the standings with a tally of 278 points.