Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri accepted on Thursday the title race was effectively between him and McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian leads Norris by 16 points ahead of this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the sport's August break.
Red Bull's four-times champion Max Verstappen is third overall, a hefty 81 points off the lead with 11 races remaining, a seemingly insurmountable margin given McLaren's dominance.
"I suppose so," Piastri told reporters when asked if it was a two-horse race.
Previously he and Norris, and McLaren bosses, said it was too early to talk of domination but the evidence is becoming hard to play down.
"Every weekend, or the past few weekends anyway, it has been Lando and I. I expect our competition to be strong and put up a good fight, specially at certain tracks through the rest of the year," said Piastri.
"Whether that comes from Max or Ferrari or Mercedes or someone else, we never know. I'm not too concerned about what happens in that. I'm trying to win each race and extend the lead."
Piastri took his first win in Formula One at the Hungaroring last year, while Norris was on pole.
McLaren have had six one-two finishes in 13 races, with Piastri winning six times and Norris four. Verstappen has had two victories.
The team have scored 516 points and are a mighty 268 points clear of second-placed Ferrari.
"Hungary has been historically a good track for us as a team, certainly the two years I've been with the team. I expect us to be strong again this weekend," said Piastri.
The 24-year-old said he had full confidence in himself to come out on top by the end of the year.
"Not every weekend has been perfect, but there's not many weekends in my life that have been perfect," he said.
"Trying to put together a solid, consistent year is ultimately going to be important. The pace in the last few weekends, specially Spa, I've been very confident in and very proud of.
"I'm more than capable of continuing that for the rest of the year. I'm confident I can do it, but it's not going to be easy."
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