AUSTIN, Texas :Max Verstappen is seeking perfection as he chases a fifth successive Formula One title that may be back on after seemingly slipping out of reach.
Even if the odds look stacked against him, with the gap to McLaren's frontrunner Oscar Piastri at 63 points with six rounds to go, the Red Bull driver cannot be ruled out until the numbers say so.
McLaren boss Zak Brown is taking nothing for granted even at this late stage.
"Max is very much in the game. I think it would be a big mistake to think Max wasn't part of this drivers' championship right now," he said on Friday, a warning he has made repeatedly of late.
THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANCE
The Dutch driver, who is third overall and has beaten both McLarens in the past three races, is not going to argue - even if he says he is still taking it one race at a time without getting carried away.
"One retirement (for McLaren) and you're fully back into it," Verstappen told Reuters before securing pole position for the Saturday sprint at Austin's Circuit of the Americas.
"There's always a chance, right? But everything needs to go perfect.
"I don't think positively about it or negatively," he added of the challenge.
"I just see it as every race weekend, we just need to maximise everything we can and then you walk up to (the final race in) Abu Dhabi and you see where you are."
While Piastri and second-placed teammate Lando Norris duel each other, Verstappen is the clear number one at Red Bull - both an advantage and disadvantage.
If teammate Yuki Tsunoda is not taking any precious points off him, neither is the Japanese getting between Verstappen and the McLarens - which would help reduce the gap much faster.
"I just think about myself, what I can do, what I have to improve on with the
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