Sport

Lando Norris eases to Singapore Grand Prix win despite twice hitting wall

McLaren driver beats Max Verstappen by 20 seconds and reduces championship gap to 52 points

McLaren's British driver Lando Norris celebrates winning on the podium after the Singapore Grand Prix night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP via Getty Images
Giles Richards
Sun Sept 22 2024 - 15:38

Lando Norris won the Singapore Grand Prix with a dominant drive from pole to flag for McLaren at the Marina Bay Circuit on Sunday. Norris was all but untouchable out front in what was a somewhat processional race under the floodlights, although the 24-year-old was fortunate to escape with no damage to his car after twice clipping a wall.

Norris comfortably beat Red Bull’s Max Verstappen into second, with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri in third. Mercedes’ George Russell was fourth, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in sixth and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fifth.

Victory for Norris means he has closed the gap to his championship rival Verstappen to 52 points with six rounds remaining. It was another complete demonstration of dominance from Norris and McLaren, with the British driver taking the flag by a full 21 seconds, albeit in what was a pedestrian affair on the streets of Singapore, the first meeting at Marina Bay not to have been interrupted by a safety car.

Verstappen was well beaten but will consider this nonetheless a positive result. Red Bull had expected to struggle through the high-downforce corners and on the bumps and kerbs. With a car that has been struggling for balance and at times has been described as all but undriveable by Verstappen, to return a second place and minimise the points dropped to Norris was considerably beyond what he and the team had anticipated. They will carry some optimism into the next round in Austin, Texas where they are hoping for a return to better form with new developments for the car.

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The victory is nonetheless just what Norris required. With his first win at Singapore, his third this season and, after he took the flag in Zandvoort, his second in four races, he has maintained the pressure on the world champion.

Having struggled with poor starts that have been costly this season, a failing that Norris and the team have been addressing with no little attention, this time they managed it with control and composure, especially given the short run to turn one in Singapore. It is the first time McLaren have won in Singapore since Hamilton took victory in 2009.

Norris made a strong start, holding his lead as Verstappen and Hamilton held their places in second and third. Norris began to open a short gap by lap three, a second and a half on Verstappen, in clean air and able to ease his tyres into the opening phase.

With a one-stop race expected, the field settled into working through the early heavy fuel loads, without overly punishing the tyres on the enormously hot track, with the front four in the train separated by seven seconds.

Norris remained comfortable out front, opening up over two seconds by lap eight, showing no little pace with a series of fastest laps, although he told the team he was not pushing and had more in the bank, as it proved.

Hamilton, from third on the grid was the only driver of the leaders to start on the soft tyres, pitted on lap 18 for the hards and rejoined in 13th, swiftly passing Kevin Magnussen for 12th but then finding he was stuck in traffic on cars on a different strategy.

Russell pitted on lap 28, emerging in front of Hamilton and Piastri in fourth, was told to push and, in clean air, did so, hoping to clear Russell. It was not all plain sailing for Norris however as he reported he had picked up some front wing damage when he brushed the wall at turn 14 on lap 30 just before Red Bull pitted Verstappen.

McLaren pitted Norris a lap later but opted not to change his front wing, judging it had only a small issue, and he rejoined in the lead.

Piastri stayed out as McLaren hoped for a safety car to give him a free stop but ultimately the Australian had to come in on lap 39. With the stops shaken out Norris led by 23 seconds from Verstappen, with Russell and Hamilton in third and fourth and Piastri in fifth but with fresher tyres made short work of passing Hamilton for fourth.

Russell fell to the Australian on lap 45 of 62 as he set off after Verstappen, who was 18 seconds clear, while Norris led with a 24-second gap but was not easing off as demonstrated when he clipped the wall again and the team advised he take a drink and concentrate.

Norris duly refocused and once more began executing relentlessly as Verstappen too reacted to Piastri’s charge to maintain his second place, before the British driver closed out the final laps with precision for a deserved win.

Carlos Sainz was seventh for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso eighth for Aston Martin, Nico Hülkenberg ninth for Haas and Sergio Pérez tenth for Red Bull. – Guardian