Lando Norris cuts Max Verstappen’s F1 title lead with dominant Singapore win
Singapore victory sees Lando Norris take another seven points off F1 title rival Max Verstappen.
Lando Norris reduced F1 title rival Max Verstappen’s championship lead for the fourth successive race with a dominant victory at the Singapore Grand Prix.
In the first Singapore Grand Prix in history not to feature a Safety Car, Norris led every single lap on his way to claiming a controlled and commanding third win of the season - despite a couple of scares.
The first came on Lap 29, when the McLaren driver locked up and ran deep into Turn 14. A glance with the barriers caused minor front wing damage for Norris, who later kissed the wall at Turn 10.
Aside from those lucky escapes, Norris was peerless as he took the chequered flag 20.945 seconds clear of Red Bull’s Verstappen, whose winless run has extended to eight races.
The result has seen Norris cut Verstappen’s championship advantage down to 52 points with six rounds remaining.
Having pitted later than his rivals, Oscar Piastri charged past both Mercedes drivers to complete the podium in third and further extend McLaren’s constructors’ championship lead over Red Bull.
Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth, just ahead of Charles Leclerc, who overtook future Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton for fifth in the closing stages.
The seven-time world champion endured a frustrating race as he lamented Mercedes’ strategy, having slipped from third on the grid to sixth.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was seventh, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who rose from 13th to beat Williams’ Franco Colapinto to the final point on offer.
In what could be his final F1 race, RB's Daniel Ricciardo finished last after making a late pit stop for softs, but stole the fastest lap bonus point away from Norris on the final lap to help Verstappen and Red Bull's cause.
