There’s a first time for everything: McLaren’s Lando Norris started a grand prix from pole position for the sixth time and finally retained the lead after the opening lap.
Not only that, Norris completely dominated after launching off of the line as led all 62 laps of the Singapore Grand Prix to earn his third victory of the season.
Norris finished 20.945 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had started right beside him on the front row.
McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri crossed the line in third place and an additional 19 seconds back over Verstappen.
The track posed more of a challenge for Norris than any driver as he brushed a barrier on lap 29 and escaped with another close call on lap 48. Although Norris said on the team radio he thought he had front-wing damage, it didn’t seem to slow him down.
As McLaren more than doubled its lead in the constructors’ standings over Red Bull from 20 to 41 points, Norris closed the gap to the three-time defending world champion Verstappen in the drivers’ standings from 59 to 52 points.
With six more grands prix to go, and three of them offering extra points for sprints, can Norris still catch Verstappen? Or is it too little, too late?
Fate isn’t entirely in Norris’ hands thanks to the bonus fastest lap point. Norris held the mark for most of Sunday’s race until RB’s Daniel Ricciardo made a late dash into the pits for fresher tires and snagged the fastest lap at the end. Although Ricciardo was ineligible to score the point since he finished outside of the top 10, it still prevented Norris from earning it himself and, more importantly, aided Verstappen and sibling team Red Bull.
Because of that, we’re now in a situation where even if Verstappen finishes second to Norris in every remaining race, sprints included, he can still secure a fourth consecutive championship.
Now, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see nothing but Norris-Verstappen 1-2 finishes from here on out, however, it does mean Norris needs to remain perfect and have misfortune come Verstappen’s way.
Verstappen jumped out to a commanding lead to start the season with victories in seven of the first nine grands prix — plus a trio of sprint wins — but he’s gone winless through the past eight events. That streak started in Red Bull’s backyard when Norris and Verstappen collided while fighting for the lead late at the Austrian GP in June. Verstappen managed to limp to fifth place while Norris sustained critical damage and did not finish.
That wasn’t the only place where Norris lost precious points as his own team forced him to swap the lead with Piastri at the Hungarian GP. Papaya rules, with the team favouring Norris over Piastri, were not in effect yet.
Every point counts in large amounts and look no further than the 2021 world championship battle where Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton entered the season finale in Abu Dhabi tied (and let’s also end that thought there before we kick that hornet’s nest again).
THE ONE WITH THE LIZARDS
Pole is gold at the Singapore GP. Norris became the 10th driver to win from pole position in the 15 races held at the Marina Bay street circuit since 2008.
You still have to expect the unexpected though. The safety car had made at least one appearance at the tricky tight street circuit until now. Teams that were banking on the inevitable caution period so they could make a cheap late pit stop were out of luck as one never came.
So, you can’t predict a safety car but you can predict a winner from pole position … and lizards.
MERCEDES MISFIRE
How did Mercedes turn a 3-4 start into a 4-6 finish? While Hamilton and George Russell locked out the second row in qualifying, it was a bit deceptive as Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had subpar runs while last year’s winner from pole position, Carlos Sainz, crashed at the start of the final session to wipe out his chance at a repeat.
Mercedes also gambled by going off-strategy for Hamilton. The team started him on the soft tires, with all of the other contenders on mediums, hoping to gain an advantage on Verstappen ahead. Not only did that not work out as Verstappen covered him off, but it also forced Hamilton to pit earlier than everyone else as his tires wore out quicker.
Piastri proved McLaren had the superior race pace with fresher tires as he surged from fifth into the final spot on the podium after passing both Mercedes cars following his pit stop on lap 39. Meanwhile, Leclerc improved from his P9 starting spot on the grid to split the two Mercedes and finish fifth.
No loss for Russell who started and finished in fourth, however, for Hamilton to lose three places is a whiff.
“We thought that the soft tire would give Lewis an advantage at the start but that turned out to be the wrong decision,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said in a release. “With our challenges managing the rear surfaces, we went backwards. Overtaking proved possible, contrary to previous races here where it has been more processional, and in hindsight we should have started him on the medium.”
RICCIARDO’S LAST DANCE
Have we seen the last of Ricciardo? If this isn’t the end it sure felt like it. The rumour mill has been buzzing that RB will replace Ricciardo with Liam Lawson as early as the next grand prix in Austin, Texas.
Ricciardo’s return to the Red Bull family last year with RB was thought to be his path to rejoining the top squad. He hasn’t cut it though as the 35-year-old has scored points only four times through 25 races. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda has outperformed Ricciardo this season scoring 22 of the RB’s 34 points. RB sits sixth in the constructors’ championship with Haas (31) only three points back now.
Red Bull has to do what’s best for the team. This is the cutthroat team after all that has dumped drivers mid-season before. That’s how Ricciardo ended up at RB in the first place as the team cut loose Nyck de Vries after only 10 races.
The 22-year-old Lawson proved last season when he filled in for an injured Ricciardo that he’s ready for a full-time ride. If Red Bull sees Lawson as the future, the sooner the team can get him in the car the better.
Ricciardo has had a good run in F1 with eight wins and finishing third in the championship twice. He was also one of the breakout stars when Drive to Survive thanks to his outgoing personality and cheeky sense of humour. Ricciardo deserves better than an 18th-place finish in a grand prix to end his career. Although, stealing the fastest lap from his former team McLaren to assist Red Bull and have a butterfly effect on the drivers’ championship would still be one for the books.
PIT STOPS
• Williams rookie Franco Colapinto just missed out on points finishing 11th, however, he continued to impress in only his third F1 race. Colapinto catapulted at the start to gain a few places and even gave Sergio Perez a run for his money until the Red Bull driver managed to get ahead to finish 10th.
• Speaking of Perez, what to make of his Sunday? After looking like a return to form last week in Baku (before colliding with Sainz that is), another poor qualifying effort had Perez starting in unlucky 13th. Sure, he moved up into the points but more is still expected from the “king of the streets” at a track like Singapore.
• Kevin Magnussen was back behind the wheel at Haas after serving his one-race ban for exceeding penalty points. While rookie Ollie Bearman earned points for Haas during his absence, Magnussen lingered among the midfield before bowing out due to accident damage in his return. It shouldn’t be a surprise Bearman will have the seat full-time next season while Magnussen is currently out of a future ride.
• Fall break: F1 takes a nearly month-long hiatus before returning for the United States Grand Prix on Oct. 20. Will teams pick up where they left off or will those who have struggled get back on track? Stay tuned.
