AUSTIN, Texas -- Max Verstappen would have considered anyone backing him for the title after the Dutch Grand Prix "an idiot" but now believes a championship victory is possible if he maximizes his performance at the five remaining races.
The defending champion secured his third win in four races at Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix, reducing his gap to championship leader Oscar Piastri to 40 points.
After his second-place finish behind Piastri in Zandvoort four races ago, Verstappen was 104 points adrift of the leader, underlining the turnaround he and Red Bull have made in recent races.
Asked what he would have said to someone at the Dutch Grand Prix if they'd told him he would be in title contention by Austin, Verstappen said: "I would have told him he was an idiot!
"We found a good way with the car. It's as simple as that.
"Of course, we put some upgrades on the car, but we understood our car a bit better where we wanted to perform better. Every weekend, we try to achieve it.
"Some weekends, it's better than others, but in general, it's been way more straightforward the last few weekends compared to before those races."
Verstappen took 23 points out of Piastri over the Austin weekend after securing victory in both the sprint race and the grand prix.
To be in with a shot at claiming his fifth world title by the end of the year, Verstappen said he now needs to maximize every opportunity at the five remaining races.
"I mean, I know that we need to be perfect 'til the end to have a chance, so that's what we just need to focus on," he added. "And I don't know, I mean, like I said before, it's super close, and just attention to detail will make the difference.
"Trying to get the best setup on the weekend and then try and not make mistakes. So that's what we'll all try to do."