Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is 81 points behind Piastri – more than three clear wins. And Norris said that while it was “never impossible”, the Dutchman was “quite a long way back”.

He added: Max is still quite easily one of the best drivers ever in Formula 1. 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 stay ahead.”

Mercedes driver George Russell said: “Oscar’s been very solid. I think he gets the most out of himself every single weekend, is my takeaway, he’s very consistent, doesn’t get flustered, and just delivers reliably.

“Whereas I feel Lando’s got huge raw speed, but probably the hit rate isn’t as high as Oscar’s.

“But they’re two incredible drivers, and I think they’ll continue fighting for quite a while. But Oscar doesn’t seem very phased.”

Russell also pointed to a penalty Piastri received for braking behind the safety car at the British Grand Prix, which cost him the win to Norris.

“It swings so quickly, doesn’t it? The momentum shifts so quickly,” Russell said. “But I think Oscar was a bit unfortunate in Silverstone. He could have also won the race in Austria, it could have gone very differently.

“Lando, over the last three years, has beaten Oscar over that period, so you can’t count out either of them, but I think it’s definitely fair to say Oscar’s sort of stepped up this year.”