LANDO NORRIS produced a statement win over Max Verstappen in Singapore today to strike another dent into his rival’s world championship lead.
The British driver survived two scrapes with the wall, but still led every lap under the lights of the Marina Bay circuit to take the chequered flag 20.9 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Verstappen.
Norris’s win, the most emphatic of his career so far, means he trails Verstappen by 52 points with 180 points still to play for over the remaining six rounds.
Oscar Piastri finished third, one place ahead of Mercedes’s George Russell with Charles Leclerc fifth for Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton started third but crossed the line a disappointing sixth.
Much has been made of Norris’s starts this year, and heading into today’s hot and humid affair, the British driver had failed to end the opening lap in the lead on any of the five previous occasions he has started from pole.
The unwanted statistic would have played on Norris’s mind, but he executed a near-perfect getaway here to keep Verstappen at bay on the short stampede to the opening chicane.
On lap eight, Norris was urged to create a five-second gap to Verstappen, and he duly obliged. By the end of lap 11 he was 5.7 sec clear of the Red Bull and on lap 16 he had doubled his advantage. Norris was lapping one second faster than his rivals.
Hamilton was the only leading contender to start the race on the soft tyre, and the seven-time world champion, in his 350th start, made the switch to the hard compound on lap 17.
But the Mercedes driver, who bumped the wall on his way into the pit-lane, was instantly regretting the decision.
“We will be in trouble later,” he said over the radio. “I am already struggling with this tyre… you are killing me with this offset [strategy], mate.”
Moments later, Hamilton ran off the road as he attempted to pass Yuki Tsunoda in a duel for 10th. Hamilton was back on the radio.
“Something is definitely wrong with the car,” he said. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff held his head in his hand at the back of the garage.
Back to Norris, and the McLaren man was now more than 20 sec clear of Verstappen. But on lap 29, came the first of his two heart-in-mouth moments when he carried too much speed into Turn 14.
In a puff of white brake smoke, Norris just managed to get his McLaren round the bend but he bumped his front wing in the process. He came straight on the radio to report damage.
Norris made his one and only change for tyres on lap 30 and emerged in the lead.
Norris continued to extend his advantage but on lap 45 he grazed the wall. Again, he escaped without damage but the anxiety on the McLaren pit-wall was evident.
“OK, so full concentration now,” said his race engineer Will Joseph. “Take a drink.” Norris’ lead now stood at half-a-minute, and a nervous Joseph was back on the radio again.
“Just chill out and bring this car home,” he said.
Norris did just that to take his third win and keep his championship hopes alive.
However, he was denied a bonus point for the fastest lap by former Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo in what could be the Australian’s final act in Formula One. Ricciardo is expected to be replaced by Liam Lawson at RB before the next round in Austin, Texas on October 20.
Russell, who crashed out here on the final lap last year, kept a racy Leclerc behind him in the closing stages to hang on to fourth, with Hamilton 85.2 seconds behind when the flag fell.
“It was an amazing race,” said Norris. “A few too many close calls. I had a couple of moments in the middle [of the race], but it was well controlled otherwise.
“The car was mega, we were flying, and at the end I could chill. It was tough, and I am out of breath. I am a little dizzy at the moment, but all good.”
Verstappen said: “On a weekend where we knew we would struggle, to be P2 is a good achievement. We need to keep trying and not finishing behind [Norris].”
