Lando Norris believes Max Verstappen is now a “genuine” contender for the world championship but insisted McLaren will not have to make team-mate Oscar Piastri their number one. Back-to-back victories for Verstappen sees him head into this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix 69 points behind Piastri, with 199 points still to play for over the remaining seven rounds. Piastri crashed out of the last round in Azerbaijan while Norris started and finished seventh. “He is genuinely a challenger,” said Norris of the four-time world champion. “If you go back to the beginning of the season they were challenging us for the first six or seven races for wins, then we brought some upgrades and improved a little bit.