Lando Norris contradicts Oscar Piastri over Max Verstappen opinion

Lando Norris insists Max Verstappen cannot be ruled out of the F1 drivers' championship battle, despite Oscar Piastri suggesting the Red Bull driver is no longer in contention.

The Briton argued it is "never impossible" for the four-time F1 drivers' champion to work his way back into the fight.

Verstappen is aiming to clinch a fifth successive crown. If he can achieve that mark, he will match the record for consecutive F1 drivers' titles, set by Michael Schumacher between 2000 and 2004, when racing for Ferrari.

But, he now faces a considerable task, and having slumped to 81 points adrift of Piastri in the standings, the Dutchman is increasingly becoming a non-factor in the title equation.

The Australian driver was asked whether the field had thinned to a two-horse race between the papaya pair during the FIA press conference on media day at the Hungarian Grand Prix, to which he began his response by saying: "I suppose so."

However, Norris, who is only 16 points behind his McLaren team-mate, is less convinced. A similar question was put to him during his media duties, where he provided an answer directly at odds with Piastri.

"It's never impossible," Norris told media, including RacingNews365. "We proved that last year, but he's quite a long way back."

Last season, He attempted to come from almost as far back as Verstappen is now, ultimately falling short. In the end, the 65-time grand prix winner took the title by 63 points, wrapping it up in Las Vegas, with two rounds to spare.

This campaign, Norris maintains McLaren is the better place to be, sharing his faith in the Woking-based squad.

Although even then, he feels it prudent not to rule the 27-year-old out, given his status and achievements in F1.

"We have a team that's a lot more stable and performing a lot better than Red Bull is, but Max is still, quite easily, one of the best drivers ever in Formula 1," Norris added. "So, as a driver, I wouldn't rule him out."

"But we have a better car, we have a better team, so I have my confidence in them that we can, we can stay ahead."