Verstappen: "Hopefully halfway through 2019" Red Bull can compete for race wins

Max Verstappen remains hopeful that his Red Bull will be able to compete for race wins by the halfway point in the season. He expects Honda to add more horsepower and also see improvements to the chassis.

"I think we still need to add more horsepower, but we are a little bit closer. On the car side, we also need to improve to really compete. We'll see," Verstappen said in a conversation with Autosport.

"Hopefully halfway through the season, we won't have to say we can only fight on circuits without [long] straights."

Verstappen, 21, sits third in the drivers' championship ahead of both Ferrari cars. But in terms of straight line speed, the Dutchman is still aiming to improve and get closer to Scuderia.

"We are still losing time on the straights, that's a fact. Especially compared to Ferrari. They found something this year, but nobody knows how. They have done their homework, and we have to make sure we get closer with the chassis and the engine," Verstappen added.