Lando Norris keeps chipping away at Max Verstappen’s points lead.
Norris cut another seven points off Verstappen’s lead Sunday with a dominating win in the Singapore Grand Prix. Norris led from pole and didn’t relinquish the lead as he won by nearly 30 seconds. After managing his pace over the opening laps, Norris took off from Verstappen and the rest of the field to turn the race into a snoozer.
Verstappen finished second ahead of Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the caution-free race. Verstappen entered the race with a 59-point lead over Norris and now that lead is 52 points with six races to go.
Seven points per race over six races isn’t enough for Norris to catch Verstappen. He’ll need some bad luck from the reigning three-time world champion and a flawless run to the finish. But the current state of the points race is also further proof that Verstappen isn’t going to win the title like he did in 2022 and 2023.
Red Bull is also now a significant underdog for the constructors title. McLaren took a 20-point lead a week ago in Azerbaijan and padded that lead in Singapore. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez finished 10th as McLaren added 21 points to its lead thanks to Perez’s struggles.
After Piastri, Mercedes’ George Russell held off Charles Leclerc for fourth as Lewis Hamilton was a distant sixth. The Mercedes duo started on the second row behind Norris and Verstappen as Hamilton went with soft tires at the start from third. That was a decision that worked out poorly. Hamilton didn’t gain any places on the opening lap and was forced to pit a lot earlier than the other leaders around him who started on medium compound tires.
That put Hamilton on the back foot in the race’s second half as he had older tires than everyone else around him.
Norris could have chopped eight points off Verstappen’s lead, but Daniel Ricciardo posted the fastest lap of the race on a set of soft tires before the checkered flag. Ricciardo was well out of the points, but his VCARB team likely pitted him to take the fastest lap — and subsequent point — off Norris and help Verstappen out.
The fastest lap could be the way that Ricciardo leaves F1 as well. It’s an open secret that Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson could take his place for the rest of the season and the topic was openly discussed on numerous occasions during the Sky Sports broadcast. Red Bull and its junior team VCARB have nearly a month to make the decision as the next race of the season at the Circuit of the Americas isn’t until Oct. 20.
Race results
1. Lando Norris, McLaren
2. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
3. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
4. George Russell, Mercedes
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
7. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
8. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
10. Sergio Perez, Red Bull
11. Franco Colapinto, Williams
12. Yuki Tsunoda, VCARB
13. Esteban Ocon, Alpine
14. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
15. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
16. Valtteri Bottas, Sauber
17. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
18. Daniel Ricciardo, VCARB
Not classified: Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Alex Albon (Williams)