Lando Norris led from start to finish and dominating throughout to win the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday (September 22nd). Max Verstappen finished a distant second as Norris trimmed seven points from Verstappen’s point lead. Oscar Piastri finished third after starting fifth as McLaren extended their lead in the constructors standings.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished fourth, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in fifth and Lewis Hamilton, making his 350th Formula 1 start, in sixth. Carlos Sainz was seventh, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso grabbed eight, Nico Hülkenberg drove his Haas to ninth, with Sergio Perez rounding out the top 10 after starting 13th.

In the driver standings, Verstappen leads Norris by 52 points, 331 to 279. Leclerc is in third, 34 behind Norris, with Piastri just eight behind Leclerc.

In the constructor standings, McLaren extended their lead over Red Bull from 20 points to 41 points, 516 to 475. Ferrari is third with 441, 34 behind Red Bull. 

The Race

Norris finally had a good start and drove away clean at lights out, leaving Verstappen no chance for an overtake. Piastri snatched P5 from Hülkenberg into Turn 2, while Hamilton and Russell maintained third and fourth, respectively.

It took about three laps, but Norris distanced himself from Verstappen’s DRS range and had clean air and breathing room at the start of lap 4. It was early, but this was exactly the start Norris needed, and finally, to deliver. 

Hamilton, starting on soft tires, was told by Mercedes to back off a bit to preserve them, which put the Mercedes team in a bit of a conundrum because Russell asked that Hamilton pick up his pace, which was holding Russell back. 

Norris one-upped Verstappen’s fastest lap with one of his own and opened up a two-second lead by lap 7. With Hamilton almost four seconds behind Verstappen, it already looked like a two-driver race for the win.

Further back, Sainz was struggling in a car that was repaired after a crash in Q2 on Saturday (September 21st). His Ferrari was running 12th, two spots down from his starting spot of 10th.

McLaren radioed Norris that they would like to see him open a five-second gap to Verstappen, and Norris happily obliged. His lead over Red Bull reached the goal by lap 12. McLaren was looking for a sufficient gap to protect themselves from an undercut should Red Bull attempt it. 

The gap to Verstappen was seven seconds by lap 13, and Norris was showing dominant form, making it look easy. The gap was ten seconds by lap 16, and the rout was on. Verstappen, however, was managing damage control well, with a seven-second cushion to Hamilton in third. Finishing second to Norris and losing only 6-8 points in the championship standings to Norris would be quite a moral victory, and we all know Red Bull is all about morals.

Hamilton gave up third and pitted for hard tires on lap 17, emerging in 13th. He started on soft tires and looked to be on a two-stop strategy. He later lamented the decision to pit so early after seeing that nearly all of the cars ahead of him had yet to pit.

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s teammate Russell was attacked by Piastri, who was approaching the DRS range on the Mercedes. Russell was no longer held up by Hamilton, but was making no inroads on Verstappen in second. 

Norris’s lead was 18 seconds, and still growing, by lap 24. Norris had taken much of the drama out of the race, and all of the drama out of his upcoming pit stop. 

Alex Albon was the first car to retire, heading to the garage to park his Williams on lap 17 with an overheating issue. Meanwhile, his teammate Franco Colapinto looked solid and was in eighth place.

Norris’ dominance was reaching Red Bull 2023 levels, as his lead was 22 seconds on lap 28. Piastri was within striking distance of Russell, and McLaren was eyeing a double podium, which would solidify their constructors championship lead. Russell pitted for hard tires, handing third to Piastri, and Russell resumed in eighth, well ahead of Hamilton in ninth. Piastri was urged to push, as Russell would be fast on fresh tires.

Norris pitted on lap 31 and maintained the lead, with a good three-second lead over his teammate, who had yet to pit. McLaren reported a “small issue” with Norris’ front wing but nothing severe enough to warrant a wing change. Replays showed Norris’ close call after locking up his brakes on the entry to Turn 14. A slightly-damaged wing was nothing compared to what might have been Norris crashing out.

Piastri finally pitted on lap 39, and a quick 2.2 second stop brought him out in fifth. McLaren was hoping Piastri’s charge could take him all the way to P2. But he’d have to get by two Mercedes, the easy part, then Verstappen, the hard part, to achieve that goal.

Piastri easily slipped by Hamilton a lap later, with Russell soon to be under assault. A series of fastest laps had Piastri on Russell’s gearbox by lap 45. Up front, Norris’ lead was 23 seconds over Verstappen. A second by Piastri would be huge for Norris’ title hopes, as it would take three more points away from Verstappen.

Piastri made the overtake on lap 45, taking third, with Verstappen about 19 seconds ahead.

With 15 laps remaining, the order was Norris, Verstappen, Piastri, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Sainz, Alonso, Hulkenberg, and Perez.

Kevin Magnussen suffered a punctured tire on lap 50, a somewhat dramatic moment, not because anyone cared about Magnussen’s prospects, but whether Magnussen limping back to the pits could trigger a safety car. But Magnussen made it to the pits, meaning no safety car and a sigh of relief from many. 

Norris’ lead was almost 30 seconds with seven laps to go, enough of a gap to pit for fresh tires and ensure a point for fastest lap and still win the race. McLaren wisely determined that the risk far outweighed the reward and opted not to pit. 

As of lap 56, Norris already held the fastest lap and could possibly hold on to it without pitting for fresh tires. Norris’ biggest worry now was lapped traffic, with Hulkenberg, Parez, and Colapinto, in ninth, 10th, and 11th, respectively, in his way. Norris carefully navigated the backmarkers. 

The biggest drama of the final laps was the battle for fourth between Russell and the trailing Leclerc. Leclerc was within DRS range and had three laps to make the pass. Ultimately, Leclerc couldn’t make the pass.

Norris crossed the finish line with a commanding 21-second cushion over Verstappen, with Piastri taking third 21 seconds behind the Red Bull.   

The Good

Landos Norris finally got it right at the start, after a number of races of not getting it right, and smoked Verstappen at lights out. And that, although we didn’t know it at the time, decided the race. It was just the precursor to an overwhelmingly dominant performance by Norris, also evidenced in the early laps of the race when Norris was recording lap times a whole second faster than Verstappen.

Formula 1 continues to expand its fan base. There was only one lizard that showed up during race weekend in Singapore, and it wasn’t Bernie Ecclestone. It was a Monitor Lizard in Free Practice 3 on Saturday (September 21st) that made an appearance (which is becoming pretty predictable in Singapore). With it being a “monitor” lizard, was it sent by Red Bull and Ferrari to surveil McLaren so they could then go tattletale on McLaren’s totally legal improvements?

It’s great to see fellow drivers stand in solidarity with Verstappen and troll the FIA for ordering Verstappen to do community service for saying the “F” word in a press conference. On Saturday (September 21st), Hamilton and Norris stifled laughter as Verstappen gave smugly short answers to questions in the post-qualifying press conference. Then, after Sunday’s (September 22nd) race, Norris said he nearly “S’d himself” after Piastri mimed putting a microphone in Norris’s face and asking him how he felt after almost hitting the wall. 

FIA, if you want to save some face, please do order Verstappen and Norris to do community service. But whatever it is, open it up to the public (and Ted Kravitz) to volunteer to serve as well. 

The Bad

Verstappen has now gone eight races without a win. For now, where Max is concerned, “V” is for “Vulgarity,” and not “Victory.” 

On the bright side, Verstappen is in a good position, with a comfortable lead in the points to allow him to win the 2024 championship and start preparing for 2025. Keep in mind that Verstappen was well behind Norris, but Verstappen was well ahead of Piastri in third. Verstappen can only lose the championship if he loses chunks of points to Norris in a race. 

Can F1 just tell the two Kick Sauber cars to skip qualifying and take 19th and 20th on the grid? Because that’s where they’re going to be on Sundays anyway. This would save the team some tires and some gas money. And use the slogan “Kick Sauber (Out Of F1).” 

And F1 should also ban whatever shade of green those cars are. Is it “Slime Green,” or “Snot Green?” Is there a shade of green that connotes the term “Make it stop?” If there is, that’s the shade of green they should be.

The Indifferent  

I’m not quite sure how I feel about RB’s Danny Ricciardo, running 18th, pitting late for soft tires with the intention of setting a fastest lap. Nothing wrong with that at all. But was Ricciardo doing it as a favor to Red Bull, to take a point from Norris, who held the fastest lap before Ricciardo? Should Ricciardo even do a favor for Red Bull, knowing he’s on the verge of soon losing his seat to Liam Lawson? It seems like an egregious case of butt-kissing from Ricciardo. But

Grid Walk Moments

If you’re pressed for time in an upcoming conversation with Lenny Kravitz, then you absolutely must preface the quick interview with the words “Lenny, I’ve got 15 seconds, then I need to ‘Fly Away.’” Brundle, of course, didn’t, and all we got was a flash interview with the rock icon when it could have been so much better.

Brundle had a quick chat with Olympic foil fencer Miles Chamley-Watson, who should be given a gold medal for choosing fashion over practicality for wearing a sweater vest with no undershirt in Singapore’s sweltering heat and humidity.

For a minute, I thought Brundle was going to have his first interview with an inanimate object since Machine Gun Kelly in Miami 2023 when he focused on a step stool at Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin car. But kudos to Brundle for telling us how Alonso would use the stool to get into the cockpit and making it sound interesting. I’ll never look at a step stool the same again. 

The Disappointing

Singapore was the very opposite of the barnburner of a race that we were gifted with in Azerbaijan. The only drama was the two instances in which Norris locked up his brakes and did or did not hit the wall/or damage his front wing. Two instances, in fact, that Sky Sports didn’t show live. Not that I’m faulting them; it’s not that exciting to watch Norris build a lead from 20 to 25 seconds.  

The Driver

I denounce all Sky Sports viewers who voted Daniel Ricciardo “Driver Of The Day.” Sure, Ricciardo is a cool guy and F1 treasure, and liked by nearly all drivers, especially those that find him really easy to beat on the track. But this day belonged to Lando Norris. And any driver who wins an F1 race by 20 seconds or more deserves to be “Driver Of The Day,” there doesn’t even need to be a vote.

The Results (Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Street Circuit)

Pos No Driver Car Laps Time/retired Pts
1 4 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 62 1:40:52.571 25
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT 62 +20.945s 18
3 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren Mercedes 62 +41.823s 15
4 63 George Russell Mercedes 62 +61.040s 12
5 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 62 +62.430s 10
6 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 62 +85.248s 8
7 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 62 +96.039s 6
8 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 61 +1 lap 4
9 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 61 +1 lap 2
10 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT 61 +1 lap 1
11 43 Franco Colapinto Williams Mercedes 61 +1 lap 0
12 22 Yuki Tsunoda RB Honda RBPT 61 +1 lap 0
13 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 61 +1 lap 0
14 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 61 +1 lap 0
15 24 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber Ferrari 61 +1 lap 0
16 77 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber Ferrari 61 +1 lap 0
17 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 61 +1 lap 0
18 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB Honda RBPT 61 +1 lap 0
19 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 57 DNF 0
NC 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 15 DNF 0

Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter

A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Sumber

ARTIKEL TERKAITDARI PENULIS