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At last throughout the championship, Verstappen admitted post-US GP that securing the crown could actually happen

This represented an important turning point, as before this he had rejected the idea

This seemed reasonable through McLaren's dominant period since the season started through the summer months

Stunning Turnaround

The statistics over the past month are quite remarkable

After the Dutch Grand Prix, he found himself 104 points adrift of Piastri in the standings, while being 70 behind his teammate

Now, he is 40 points adrift of his rival, whose lead over his team-mate has reduced to merely 14 points

Rival Team's Reaction

Several tracks remaining that suit McLaren's advantages - these specific circuits, the team have singled out

But Verstappen's recent form makes everything uncertain

Earlier in the weekend, McLaren team principal noted that the Verstappen-Red Bull combination could dominate through the rest of the season

Driver Confidence

As the Dutchman advances on his rivals, so Norris has been closing on Piastri - he was trailing by 34 points following the Dutch GP

Piastri finished behind Norris during the Monza race, struggled significantly at the Azerbaijan GP, and missed opportunities in Singapore

Organization Mindset

The entire McLaren organization are venturing towards uncharted waters

The racers with their team haven't previously contested a world crown earlier, despite Norris challenging the champion previously

His current responsibility involves ensure the organization and racers steady and composed, to work through the stress while prioritizing the job in hand

We repeatedly mention the challenge before us - which is a tight competition for race wins, a close fight towards the world title - is what Formula 1 is about

Actually, the earlier situation was unusual when we were doing easily P1, P2, like in Barcelona, in Bahrain, and other venues

It's a process of getting used to such intense competition, we intend to embrace complete focus while staying calm

• Five races remain the title fight
• Two will have sprint formats
• The crown contest continues fiercely competitive

Finally, should we discover our way again, find our pace, certainly for me find our pace again, then I don't have any major concerns

What we do in the future is very easy

We keep doing the good work and the results will automatically materialize