Lando Norris wins F1’s Singapore Grand Prix, tightens title fight with Max Verstappen

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Lando Norris wins his third Formula One race of the season, taking the Singapore Grand Prix 20 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen.

This narrows the driver championship gap to 52 points, with Verstappen still in the lead.

Norris was still leading by the end of Lap 1, and he began building a gap to Verstappen, getting over 11.5 seconds clear by Lap 17. But behind the leaders at the start, it was a messy Turn 1 as numerous cars ran wide. Franco Colapinto divebombed his way into the top 10, a spot he held until he pitted on Lap 30. Sergio Pérez struggled to pass him for a period of time.

“He’s very good,” the Red Bull driver said over the radio on Lap 16. “Difficult to pass, Colapinto.”

It became evident during the early stages of the Singapore GP that the undercut was looking strong. This is when a car pits before those in front to gain an advantage.

Lewis Hamilton was among the first frontrunners to pit, swapping his soft tires for hard tires on Lap 19. But he later said over the radio that he felt they’d have trouble later on, adding that he was already struggling with the hard tire by lap 23. The Singapore GP is traditionally a one-stop race unless the race is neutralized.

It seemed like it would be a runaway for Norris, who was building a notable lead. But by around Lap 30, he reported over the radio that he had front wing damage and began slowing. However, when he pulled into the pits, McLaren didn’t change his front wing — it just tweaked the setup and swapped the medium tires for the hard compound. Norris was later told over the radio that it was a “small issue but nothing serious.”

All eyes fell on Oscar Piastri as the race reached the middle stages. George Russell pitted on Lap 29, and the McLaren driver lurked behind him. Piastri began taking time out of Verstappen’s laps, moving into second as the Dutchman pitted. But the McLaren driver could feel his tires dropping off, finally pitting for hard tires on Lap 39. It was a late pit stop, a bold move by McLaren at a track where overtaking can be difficult. But he had a notable tire offset.

Piastri emerged from the pits behind the Mercedes duo and wasted no time passing Hamilton. He began hunting down Russell for the final podium position, nailing the overtake on Lap 45 at Turn 4 as he took the long way around the Silver Arrow.

The race settled from there. Norris had a close call when he clipped the wall, the same place where Russell crashed last year, but he put together a fastest lap shortly after, nearly two seconds quicker than Verstappen’s previous lap. Meanwhile, Pérez reported over the radio that he had no traction and was “bouncing like a kangaroo.”

Colapinto was right on his tail, putting the Red Bull under pressure, but the Williams driver ultimately finished outside of points, never getting around Pérez.

In a twist at the end, Daniel Ricciardo pitted for a third time in the final few laps, swapping for a set of soft tires. He was flying, and at the time, Norris had the race’s fastest lap. Ricciardo instead took the fastest lap, spoiling Norris’ chance at his first grand slam.

📻 GP: “Your old pal Daniel got the fastest lap at the end there as well.”

📻 Verstappen: “Thank you, Daniel.”#F1 #SingaporeGP

— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) September 22, 2024

Here’s how the top 10 finished:

1. Lando Norris
2. Max Verstappen
3. Oscar Piastri
4. George Russell
5. Charles Leclerc
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Carlos Sainz
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Nico Hülkenberg
10. Sergio Pérez

This is a developing story.

Top photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images