Lando Norris ends worrying F1 streak at Singapore Grand Prix

Lando Norris finally ended his streak of losing the lead on the opening lap of F1 races when starting on pole position.

The McLaren driver converted pole position at the Marina Bay Street Circuit into a dominant victory.

More importantly, Norris led into the opening sequence of corners, retaining the lead of the race ahead of F1 title rival Max Verstappen.

Prior to Singapore, Norris had lined up on pole position on seven previous occasions but had lost the lead by the end of the opening lap each time. 

This applies to five races since 2021 and two sprint events.

Norris lost the lead to Carlos Sainz at the start of the 2021 Russian Grand Prix - a race the British driver should have won.

It was the same last year’s Brazil sprint race, and in the China sprint, where Lewis Hamilton led after an aggressive pass in the opening sequence of corners.

Norris dropped to third in Spain after starting from pole, while teammate Oscar Piastri got ahead into Turn 1 at the Hungaroring.

Norris lost the lead to Verstappen at Zandvoort, and then he was out-classed by Piastri again on Lap 1 at the Italian Grand Prix.

This trend has finally come to an end with Norris keeping the lead in Singapore.

Norris went on to win the race by over 20 seconds as he reduced Verstappen’s championship lead down to 52 points.

Speaking after the race, Norris said: “It was an amazing race. A few too many close calls.

“You know, I had a couple little moments in the middle, but it was well-controlled, I think, otherwise. And the car was mega, so I could push.

“We were flying the whole race, and yeah, at the end, I could just chill. So it was a nice race, still tough. I'm a bit out of breath, but a very fun one.”