Piastri, Norris go head-to-head as McLaren leaves Verstappen in dust

Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri acknowledged Thursday that the title fight has effectively narrowed to a duel between him and McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

The Australian holds a 16-point lead over Norris heading into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix – the final race before the August break.

Four-time champion Max Verstappen sits third, trailing by a daunting 81 points with 11 races left, a gap that looks nearly impossible to close given McLaren’s current form.

“When asked if it’s now a two-horse race, Piastri replied, ‘I suppose so.’”

While both drivers and McLaren officials previously resisted declaring early dominance, mounting evidence now makes that stance increasingly difficult to maintain.

“Every weekend now, or the last few weekends anyway, it has been Lando and me. I expect our competition to still be strong and put up a good fight, especially at certain tracks through the rest of the year,” Piastri said.

“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 Formula One win at the Hungaroring last year, while Norris was on pole.

McLaren has had six one-two finishes in 13 races, with Piastri winning six times so far and Norris four. Verstappen has two victories.

The team has scored 516 points and is already a mighty 268 points clear of second-place 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,” Piastri said.

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 aren’t 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.”