Oscar Piastri is refusing to rule Max Verstappen out of the title fight, despite leading the Red Bull driver by 61 points ahead of the halfway point of the season at Silverstone this weekend.
Just 15 points separates Piastri at the top of the standings and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris in second place, but Verstappen's hopes of defending his title took a blow at the last round in Austria when he was forced to retire on the opening lap following a collision.
McLaren also appears to have the competitive edge over Red Bull in terms of outright pace, winning eight of the 11 races so far this season while Verstappen has only won two.
In Austria, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the title battle was looking increasingly like a two-horse race between McLaren's drivers, but Piastri is refusing to view it that way.
"I don't really want to rule Max out," he told ESPN at a McLaren fan event in London's Trafalgar Square. "Obviously the gap is quite big now and I think the car has been very competitive.
"Austria was in some ways a pleasant surprise in how competitive we were. I think we expected to be strong, but not quite that strong. So if we can keep that going, I think it's good for a two-way battle.
"But again, the championship is still long, still 13 races left.
"It's not an insurmountable gap by any means. So I'm not going to rule him out."
Piastri has engaged in a number of wheel-to-wheel battles with the reigning champion, including fights for the lead in Jeddah, Imola and Miami.
Asked if Verstappen is a trickier opponent to deal with than some of the others on the grid, Piastri added: "Definitely tough. I think he's a driver that races extremely hard. Pushes the boundaries well-and-truly in terms of what's acceptable.
"But I feel for myself, I always try and toe that line as well. And try and always race people hard -- fairly, but hard.
"And ultimately he's a four-time world champion for a reason. And one of those reasons is because he's very good at wheel-to-wheel battles.
"I've definitely learnt a few things this year. Held my own in a lot of cases -- learned a few lessons in some other cases.
"But he's a tough competitor, definitely. But that's what we're all here to do and race for."
Piastri took the lead of the drivers' championship with victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and has held it ever since.
Although this year only marks his third season in F1, the Australian feels no extra pressure becoming the hunted ahead of the second half of the season.
"I prefer to be leading it, obviously," Piastri said. "The main place you want to lead it is at the end of the year, but I think generally I've been in this position before in my junior career. I always kind of say that normally if you're leading a championship, it means you're doing something right.
"So I'm enjoying it. I think, honestly, I'm just trying to go into every weekend trying to get the most out of that that I can. And it's still very early in the year, so the championship picture is nice when you look at it, but ultimately it can change very quickly.
"So I'm enjoying being the hunted, but I'm just trying to get the most out of each week."