Lando Norris win in sweltering Singapore takes him within 52 points of Max Verstappen
After all the talk of swearing in the build-up, this was one Singapore Grand Prix which could have done with being a bit more X-rated. A rather uneventful race by Marina Bay’s standards did not produce much in the way of fireworks, but it did at least squeeze the title race a little, Lando Norris’s third win of his career reducing his deficit to Max Verstappen to 52 points with six races of the season remaining.
The moment Lando Norris won his THIRD Grand Prix of the season! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/jAw3jftthQ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 22, 2024
Could it still happen? Could Norris still pull this off? Certainly. McLaren now have by far the fastest car on the grid. Norris’s winning margin here was over 20 seconds, the sort of yawning chasm Red Bull enjoyed at the start of the season.
Verstappen’s ability to wring every last drop out of his Red Bull is an issue for him, though.
Even here, at a track Verstappen has never much enjoyed, and off the back of a difficult weekend, the Dutch driver was able to finish second, beating Norris’s teammate Oscar Piastri by 20 seconds, to ensure he lost only seven points to Norris in the championship.
That Verstappen did not lose eight was down to RB’s Daniel Ricciardo, who in what was probably his final race in F1, did a job for his team’s parent company, bolting on a new set of soft tyres on the penultimate lap and successfully denying Lando Norris his fastest lap bonus point.
“Thank you, Daniel,” noted Verstappen when he was informed on his in-lap of what Ricciardo had done.
"Thank you, Daniel" 🤝
Max loving Danny Ric getting fastest lap 👊 pic.twitter.com/XWggCEeXvp— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 22, 2024
Verstappen knows only too well that every point counts, which is why McLaren’s refusal to implement team orders earlier in the season could come back to haunt them. As it stands, Norris needs to beat Verstappen by an average of just over eight points per race if he is to take his maiden world title. Not an impossible task by any means, particularly if Verstappen fails to finish a race between now and Abu Dhabi. But things might have been a lot closer.
Norris did a professional job here. Having had so many stinkers off the start line this year, he got away cleanly and led from lights to chequered flag, extending his lead at around a second a lap for most of the first half of the race. There were a couple of heart-in-mouth moments when he brushed walls and survived. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner called Norris a “lucky b------” afterwards. “Hitting the wall once is usually a wake-up call,” he said. “To hit it twice, somebody is smiling on you.”
A heart in mouth moment for race leader Lando Norris 🫣 pic.twitter.com/rLTgGBZHjf
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 22, 2024
Horner ought to be careful using such language. Verstappen has only just been sentenced to community service for swearing in an official FIA press conference. The Dutch driver, who effectively refused to answer questions in a post-qualifying press conference on Saturday in protest at what he described as a “ridiculous punishment” from the sport’s governing body for using the f-word in a press conference earlier in the week, was still giving fairly clipped responses on Sunday night.
Again, Verstappen chose to answer more fully when out of the official press conference, telling journalists that the controversy could well hasten his departure from F1.
“These kinds of things definitely decide my future as well, when you can’t be yourself or you have to deal with these kinds of silly things,” he said. “Now I am at the stage of my career where you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring.
“For me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure.”
As far as the race was concerned, Verstappen said he was delighted with second place and expressed hope that he would be closer to Norris’ pace in Austin next time now that Red Bull had a clearer idea of what was wrong with their car. “Hopefully now we can kick-start things,” he said.
Hamilton furious at Mercedes strategy
Behind the front three, Mercedes’ George Russell, who complained of understeer, oversteer and of feeling as if he was “in a sauna”, just about held off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for fourth, while Russell’s team mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth, having started third.
The only driver in the top 10 to have started the race on softs, Hamilton was not at all happy about his strategy. “You’re killing me with this offset,” he complained at one point. Intriguingly, neither Hamilton nor Russell turned up for their media duties afterwards. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said they were both suffering from “borderline heatstroke”. But every other driver made it.
Otherwise, the biggest stories of the day came off the track: Formula One’s longstanding general counsel Sacha Woodward-Hill leaving after 28 years; Dan Fallows gone at Aston Martin ahead of Adrian Newey’s arrival next season.
We still have two championships to decide by then. McLaren look a safe bet for the constructors’ title now, but can they bag the double? That remains to be seen. Asked whether he expected it to go down to the wire, Norris admitted he was not sure.
“I hope it does. There are still a lot of points to catch up and that will not be easy to do. Max and Red Bull are one of the most dominant pairings ever seen in Formula One. And that hasn’t changed. It is the same team and same driver so I have some tough competition.
“Our car is quicker than theirs, and that is down to the team being smart. That is the game. I am working my butt off to try and make sure it happens but he is doing the same to make sure it doesn’t.”
Norris hits wall twice but wins Singapore GP: As it happened
03:11 PM BST
Congrats to Lando Norris
That was never in doubt. Verstappen gave it his best shot but could never really lay a glove on him. Piastri with a good drive. Sidebar of minor interest is that Ricciardo picked up the point for fastest lap, which might or might not be significant when they tally it all up. Thanks for following.
02:56 PM BST
Norris to Sky
“An amazing race. A few too many close calls. It was well controlled otherwise. Fun. Sometimes it is not that you are pushing too much but that you are chilling too much. Good day for the team.”
David Coulthard, interviewing, now pours a jug of water over the head of Lando Norris. Hard to see David Frost doing that.
02:55 PM BST
Verstappen to Sky
“I was really racing by myself. First set of tires had degredation. We need to improve more and more. Yes my lead is ebbing away but a lot can happen. Always tough around here, warm and a long race,”
02:53 PM BST
Piastri to Sky
“It was warm. Good recovery from qualifying. Big thing for the team, the car was exceptional. Bit close with George at turn one but overall I didn’t take too many risks.”
02:48 PM BST
Fastest lap
goes to Daniel Ricciardo, in what might be his final race. Told of this news, Verstappen says “thank you Daniel”
02:46 PM BST
Places
Verstappen is second, Piastri is third, Russell four, Leclerc fifth, Hamilton sixth.
02:45 PM BST
Lando Norris wins the Singapore GP
His third win of the season and he has bossed this from the word go.
02:36 PM BST
Lap 58
Norris
Verstappen
Piastri
Russell
Leclerc
Hamilton
Sainz
Alonso
There are at least three seconds between each of the above so this looks likely to be the finishing order.
02:35 PM BST
Lap 57
Lando Norris is riding his luck, he has brushed the wall twice now. Still, he’s driven very well also. Impressive front-running display.
02:22 PM BST
Lap 46
Oscar Piastri passes George Russell in P3.
02:20 PM BST
Lizard
Blistering pace in all three sectors! 🦎😁#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/n9GHaYx00Y
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2024
02:19 PM BST
Lap 45
Sweet piece of driving from Piastri as he goes past Lewis Hamilton.
02:09 PM BST
Lap 40
Norris is bossing this from the front, just keeps pulling away and away.
lando be like:#SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/N4tsMdTFYx
— Lili ⁴ 🏁 (@lilisdsigns) September 22, 2024
02:08 PM BST
Lap 38
Colapinto off the track. Overtakes Ricciardo. That might earn him a slap on the wrist.
02:01 PM BST
Lap 35
Norris
Piastri
Verstappen
Leclerc
Russell
Hamilton
Norris is about nine seconds ahead, Verstappen has gone back into third
02:00 PM BST
Lap 31
But the Norris car damage is not severe.
01:51 PM BST
Lap 30
Norris has damaged the front wing of his car.
01:47 PM BST
Lap 27
Lewis: “Something is definitely wrong with the car mate the tires are dropping off.”
01:46 PM BST
Lap 26
Hamilton is grumbling about his tires to the team and he has bungled the overtake of Tsunoda.
01:41 PM BST
Lap 23
McLaren are telling Lando Norris to go as long as he can on the mediums. It’s a 17 second gap as it stands.
01:37 PM BST
Lap 21
Hamilton says “I think I might have clipped the wall.”
01:34 PM BST
Lap 18
Lewis Hamilton is into the pits and he emerges with some new hard tires.
01:33 PM BST
Lap 17
Alex Albon of Williams has retired.
01:28 PM BST
Lap 15
Not a lot of overtaking to tell you about.
Nico Hulkenberg is sixth. He says on the team radio that but he is “sliding around like hell” now on his medium tyres.
01:20 PM BST
Lap 10
Norris has increased his lead over Verstappen to four seconds.
01:18 PM BST
Lap 8
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
01:14 PM BST
Lap 6
Norris is about 1.8 seconds ahead from Max V and Hamilton, on soft tires, is getting further adrift in third.
01:13 PM BST
Lap 5
The front two are pulling away here.
01:12 PM BST
Lap 2
Colapinto with a good first lap. Norris increasing his lead.
01:04 PM BST
Lap 1
Norris away well, and through the first turn ok. Quick start from Lewis Hamilton but he’s not besting Verstappen.
Hukelnberg passes Piastri, but not for long.
01:04 PM BST
Lights out!
Lando away well.
01:00 PM BST
Drivers are ready
The tracks is clearing. Lando Norris is on pole but Verstappen, second, has the inside line coming to the first bend.
12:56 PM BST
Stats
Four DRS zones, 62 laps.
12:44 PM BST
Lenny Kravitz
“Super excited, very happy to be here.”
Brundle: “Ok that’s it, now time for the anthems.”
12:40 PM BST
Horner
“Mega lap in qualifying, hopefully we can give the McLaren a harder time today.”
12:37 PM BST
Grid walk time
Martin has buttonholed Sir Mark Cavendish.
12:37 PM BST
Jackie
Jackie Stewart and Lando Norris ahead of the Singapore GP! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/7SCJPv1t5h
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 22, 2024
12:27 PM BST
Constructors
12:09 PM BST
The standings
12:09 PM BST
Qualifying times
1 Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1min 29.525secs
2 Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:29.728
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:29.841
4 George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:29.867
5 Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:29.953
6 Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 1:30.115
7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:30.214
8 Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 1:30.354
9 Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari No Time Set
10 Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Ferrari No Time Set
11 Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:30.474
12 Franco Colapinto (Arg) Williams 1:30.481
13 Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:30.579
14 Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:30.653
15 Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:30.769
16 Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) RB 1:31.085
17 Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:31.094
18 Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:31.312
19 Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 1:31.572
20 Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 1:32.054
11:05 AM BST
Good morning
Welcome to our live coverage for the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, from the Marina Bay Street Circuit. In qualifying yesterday Lando Norris took pole position for today’s race, however, his championship rival Max Verstappen will line up alongside him. That has not happened too much in the past couple of months with Red Bull’s struggles. This was a track where the RB20 was expected to struggle but Verstappen, naturally, pulled out a lap good enough to put him on the front row.
The drivers’ championship is still definitely on for McLaren’s Norris but he needs to take bigger chunks out of Verstappen’s 59-point lead than he has been doing. Yes, he fought back from 15th on the grid last week in Baku to fourth (ahead of Verstappen) but that will not be enough. A win here would be a good start but it would be handy if the Dutchman finished down the field a little. That is not to say that will not happen, but Singapore is a track where overtaking comes at a premium so that is no guarantee.
Another issue for Norris has been his opening laps which have, for want of a better word, have been appalling this year. Pole positions have been squandered and doing that here, to Verstappen, would mean McLaren would need to win the race strategically, most likely. Of course, this is a street circuit with the threat of crashes, yellow and red flags and the unexpected never far around the corner.
Lining up in third and fourth will be the Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who had a - perhaps unexpectedly - excellent qualifying session. Ferrari could only manage ninth and tenth after winning in Monza at the start of this month and challenging for victory in Baku last week. It will be a very long way back from them from there, with even a Haas, an Aston Martin and an RB ahead of them.
The race begins at 1pm BST and we will be here for the build-up, live action and reaction from it.