Lando Norris put on a masterclass performance under the Singapore night sky, converting his pole position into a dominant win in the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. The McLaren driver, who had faced disappointing starts from the front row in the past, finally delivered a flawless race, leading from start to finish. With this victory, Norris closed the gap on championship leader Max Verstappen, cutting the Dutchman's points advantage from 59 to 52.
From the moment the five red lights went out, Norris showed that he was in control. He made a perfect getaway, maintaining his pole position advantage into Turn 1 and fending off an early attack from Verstappen. Despite a few tense moments and brushes with the wall, Norris quickly settled into his rhythm, pulling away from the Red Bull driver and building a substantial lead over the field.
Max Verstappen, who started alongside Norris on the front row, simply had no answer to the McLaren's blistering pace. Although he managed to fend off an initial charge from Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen found himself gradually slipping back as the race unfolded. By the halfway point, the gap between him and Norris had ballooned to over 13 seconds, and it only continued to grow. Despite his best efforts, Verstappen was forced to settle for second place, finishing more than 20 seconds behind the race winner.
While Norris and Verstappen occupied the top two positions for most of the race, the real action was unfolding further down the field. Oscar Piastri, Norris’s McLaren teammate, delivered a stunning drive to secure a podium finish. Starting from fifth on the grid, Piastri showed incredible racecraft, staying out longer than anyone else during the first stint and using fresher tires to overtake the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. He eventually crossed the line in third place, marking another brilliant result for McLaren and strengthening their position in the Constructors' Championship.
Mercedes drivers Russell and Hamilton were locked in a close battle throughout the race, with Russell finishing fourth and Hamilton fifth. Despite Mercedes showing promise during qualifying, they struggled to match McLaren's pace over the race distance. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who started further down the grid, made steady progress through the field, overtaking Hamilton late in the race to finish fifth, sandwiched between the two Mercedes cars. His teammate, Carlos Sainz, managed to recover from his qualifying crash to take seventh.
Elsewhere, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had a solid race, finishing eighth, while Nico Hulkenberg delivered a much-needed points finish for Haas in ninth. Sergio Perez had a weekend to forget, after a disappointing qualifying session saw him knocked out in Q2. Despite his best efforts, he could only manage a tenth-place finish, capping off a frustrating day for Red Bull.
Franco Colapinto, driving for Williams, once again showed why he is considered one of the rising stars of Formula 1. He narrowly missed out on points, finishing just behind Perez in 11th. The Argentine driver, who has impressed in recent races, continued his strong form and was a thorn in Perez’s side throughout the race.
Further down the order, Yuki Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon had a relatively quiet race for AlphaTauri and Alpine respectively, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll rounded out the classified finishers. It was a tough day for Alfa Romeo, with Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas struggling to make an impact and finishing 15th and 16th respectively. Pierre Gasly had a difficult race for Alpine, while Daniel Ricciardo, who set the fastest lap of the race after a late switch to soft tires, could only manage 18th after a challenging three-stop strategy.
There were two retirements in the race: Kevin Magnussen’s Haas picked up a puncture late in the race, forcing him to retire, while Alex Albon’s Williams overheated, ending his race prematurely. Albon had dropped down the order at the start after being forced wide by his rookie teammate Colapinto.
Norris's win was his third of the season, following earlier triumphs in Miami and the Netherlands. His performance in Singapore was nothing short of spectacular, and it marked a significant moment in the championship battle. The 24-year-old Briton, who had struggled with consistency earlier in the season, seems to have found his groove at the perfect time. With only a handful of races remaining, his win has rekindled hopes of a late-season charge for the title, though Verstappen remains the man to beat.
As the McLaren team celebrated in the paddock, Norris was quick to praise his team and car, saying, "It was an amazing race. A few too many close calls, a couple of little moments in the middle, but it was well controlled I think otherwise. The car was mega. I could push, we were flying the whole race and at the end could just chill, so it was a nice race. Still tough, I’m a bit out of breath. A very fun one!"
The result has further tightened the championship fight, with McLaren extending their lead over Red Bull in the Constructors' standings by 41 points. As the Formula 1 circus prepares to head to Austin, Texas, for the United States Grand Prix, all eyes will be on whether Norris can carry this momentum forward and mount a serious challenge to Verstappen’s title lead.
The race at the Circuit of The Americas promises to be another thrilling chapter in what has been an enthralling 2024 season. With Norris and McLaren on the rise, Verstappen will need to dig deep to protect his shrinking championship advantage. As the pressure mounts, one thing is clear: the battle for the Formula 1 crown is far from over.
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