Formula 1 championship leader Oscar Piastri accepted on Thursday that the title race was now effectively between him and McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian leads Norris by 16 points ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the sport’s August break.
Red Bull’s four-time champion Max Verstappen is third overall, a hefty 81 points off the lead with 11 races remaining — a seemingly insurmountable margin given McLaren’s current dominance.
“I suppose so,” Piastri told reporters when asked if it was now a two-horse race.
Previously he and Norris, as well as McLaren bosses, have said it was too early to talk of such domination but the evidence is becoming hard to play down now.
“Every weekend now, or the last few weekends anyway, it has been Lando and I. I expect our competition to still be strong and put up a good fight, especially at certain tracks through the rest of the year,” said Piastri.
“Whether that comes from Max or Ferrari or Mercedes or someone else, we never really know. I’m not too concerned about what happens in that. I’m just trying to win each race and extend the lead.”
Piastri took his first win in Formula 1 at the Hungaroring last year, while Norris was on pole.
McLaren have had six one-two finishes in 13 races, with Piastri winning six times so far and Norris four. Verstappen has had two victories.
The team have scored 516 points and are already a mighty 268 points clear of second-placed Ferrari.
“Hungary has been historically a good track for us as a team, certainly the two years I’ve been with the team. I expect us to be strong again this weekend,” said Piastri.
The 24-year-old said he had full confidence in himself to come out on top by the end of the year.
“Not every weekend has been perfect, but there’s not many weekends in my whole life that have been perfect,” he said.
“Just trying to put together a solid, consistent year is ultimately going to be important. The pace in the last few weekends, especially Spa, I’ve been very confident in and very proud of.
“I’m more than capable of continuing that for the rest of the year. I’m confident that I can do it, but it’s not going to be easy.”
When asked what it takes to win the title as the race gets tighter and whether consistency helps, Piastri said: “The way you win races at the back end of the season is the same way at the start is the same — you need to be faster than everyone around you and you need to make the least mistakes possible.
“It’s great to be consistent but if you’re consistently being beaten as well then that’s not a recipe for a championship.”
