McLaren driver Lando Norris says he “wasn’t ready” for a title fight with Max Verstappen this season.
The Briton needs to score at least three more points than Verstappen in this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix to keep the drivers’ championship alive.
There are three races remaining in the season with Qatar and Abu Dhabi following on consecutive weekends after Las Vegas.
Norris said: “I probably wasn’t outright ready to go up against Red Bull and Max. I think I am now now. But it’s probably too late.
“Max is one of the best drivers ever in F1. And to go up against that person who is so good takes a bit more than what I have done this season. But since the summer break it is close to what it should be.”
Norris said he heads into Las Vegas knowing the “door is almost shut” on him in the championship.
He had narrowed the gap from 84 points at the halfway point of the season to 47 before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix three weeks ago, but Verstappen extended his lead to 62 by winning the wet race from 17th on the grid, while Norris finished sixth.
The Dutchman will clinch a fourth world title if he leads by at least 60 points after Saturday’s race (06:00 GMT on Sunday).
But Norris said this season had given him the confidence that he “had what it takes” to win a championship in the future.
“It is the first time we’ve had a chance to fight at the front,” Norris said. “We’ve not been able to do that for the past six years, this has been our and my first opportunity.
“I was definitely not at the level I need to be at the beginning of the year. Since the summer break, I feel I’ve done a very good job and performed very well, by far some of my best performances.
“I am not completely happy with what I’ve done but for the first time I feel I have got what it takes to fight for the championship.
“It doesn’t mean I’m complete and when you are competing against drivers like Max you have to be close to perfect. The main thing I can take away is I have faith I have what it takes to fight for a championship.”
Norris said both he and the team had made mistakes this year.
“There have been plenty of of races where we didn’t do as good a job as we we could,” he said. “Silverstone we could have had a one-two and we didn’t get it.
“There were plenty of times when we have not performed as a championship-winning team, and plenty when I haven’t performed at the level of a championship-winning driver.”
Norris said he had had a “tough time” after the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as a result of realising his title hopes had faded away.
He added: “It was a defining moment for the championship. The doors are almost shut.
“For a week, I was pretty down because I had that realisation that things are pretty much out of my control, and not within reach, and that’s a tough thing.
“When your hopes are so high, to get it knocked down, that was pretty demoralising and not the best feeling.”
