Verstappen vows to push for third place in 2019

Mad Max wants third place

(GMM) Max Verstappen has vowed to push to finish third overall in the 2019 drivers' world championship.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are locked into first and second places with two races to go, but a battle is brewing for that last podium spot in the title standings.

Charles Leclerc has a 14 point advantage over Red Bull's Verstappen, with the other Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel just another 5 points adrift.

"Third place is going to be tricky, so we'll need some luck," Verstappen told De Telegraaf newspaper.

"Our results have not been as good since the summer break, but I talked about it with my engineer last week and overall our car wasn't that bad during that period," he said.

"We only had some unfortunate moments and in Singapore the mistake was with the setup of the car."

Third place has become somewhat of a joke in the past few years, with Kimi Raikkonen in particular admitting that the biggest prize is the chore of attending the FIA prize-giving gala.

But Verstappen laughed: "Kimi seemed to enjoy the gala last year.

"If you look at the whole year, Ferrari should be much further ahead with the car they have. Viewed in that way, it's good that we are still fighting for it.

"I will definitely go for that third place," he insisted.

"I think it's good for the sport that young drivers are coming up. It's getting a bit boring to see Lewis winning every time isn't it? Hopefully we can take over from them soon."