After weeks of dismissing any notion of a Formula 1 world title bid, even Max Verstappen couldn't play down the truth any longer after winning the United States Grand Prix that a fifth consecutive world championship is there for the taking.
Red Bull's resurgence over the past two months, while McLaren's performance has stalled and its drivers got caught up in various incidents, has seen Verstappen become the dominant force once more, clawing another 23 points out of Piastri's lead in at the US GP - just like he did in Baku.
The net result is that Verstappen heads into the final five race weekends just 40 points off the lead in what is now F1's quickest car. Second-placed Lando Norris has closed to 14 points of Piastri after an off-kilter weekend for the Australian, setting up a tantalising three-way title run-in.
After vowing to take things race by race for several weekends, Verstappen - for the first time this year - acknowledged he is a strong contender after an up and down campaign for Red Bull.
"Yeah, for sure. The chance is there," he said after crossing the line at the Circuit of the Americas seven seconds ahead of Norris, with Piastri only managing fifth. "We just need to try and deliver this kind of weekends now 'til the end.
"We will just try whatever we can. I think it is exciting, and I'm just very excited to the end. It was an unbelievable weekend for us."
Verstappen and Norris proved closely matched on race pace in Austin, but Norris' bid to challenge the Dutchman faltered after being passed by Charles Leclerc at the start, and then being stuck behind the Ferrari in both stints.
"If you look at the whole race, the pace between me and Lando was really close," Verstappen explained.
"The first stint is what we made the difference. I could eke out a little bit of a gap, and that's basically what we kept 'til the end. It wasn't easy to manage, but we kept it in the lead and I'm just incredibly proud of everyone to deliver a weekend like this."
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