Lando Norris weighed an estimated five kilos less when he climbed out of his McLaren after a victorious drive. A city tour at Formula 1 speed in Singapore is stressful at 30 degrees Celsius and humidity levels around 75 percent. However, as superior as the Brit won the night race at the equator on Sunday evening (local time), the torment over 62 laps (306 kilometers) must have been bearable. Although, twice, he almost deprived himself of the success that is so important in the title fight due to careless mistakes would have brought. But he finally crossed the finish line ahead of his World Championship rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull), who needed 21 seconds longer for the tropical tour. Oscar Piastri arrived third in the second McLaren. The traditional racing team remains the measure of all things. Nico Hülkenberg (Haas) from Emmerich drove brilliantly and came ninth. He collected two points and took tenth place in the championship. “Second place is a good achievement.” “He was a little dizzy,” said Norris, who poured the contents of a bottle of water over his head and into the collar of his overalls at the finish . The 24-year-old continued that he had to survive “a few too many close moments.” He hit the barrier twice. But he didn’t accelerate too much. Perhaps, he said, he had even taken it too easy. It was his great luck that this negligence had no consequences. Verstappen, who was once again defeated, wanted to live well with second place: “We knew it would be difficult,” said the Dutchman: “Second place is a good achievement, even if it is not our aim to be second.” Always behind McLaren In any case, getting to the finish line wouldn’t be possible in the long term. At 8 p.m. local time, the floodlights turned up to maximum made it almost as bright as day. Around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, everyone was looking at the prominent top three places. Norris ahead of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), two world champions and one who wants to become one this year, oh yes, that promised action. Especially since Norris, as if by magic, always doesn’t get going from pole position, and especially a fourth DRS zone was set up to make overtaking easier. After all, the fastest Saturday winner won nine times in 15 editions in Singapore. That’s how it should happen again. Norris got off to an excellent start and broke the spell: never before had he managed to maintain the lead until the end of the first lap. Max Verstappen never came that close to the winner after that. AFPHamilton was one of the few to rush off on soft tires and wanted to ambush Verstappen right at the start. The champion held up fairly and the long journey over the moguls in the city state began without any major delays. Norris did everything he could to get rid of Verstappen as quickly as possible, setting best time after best time. Soon there were more than two seconds between them. Would you like a little more? McLaren gave Norris the spurs. “We want a gap to Max of five seconds,” the order went over the radio. Just lose the world champion if that’s all. Norris accelerated, the gap opened up.More on the topicThe drivers behind the scene are currently dictating the pace at McLaren. Hamilton, who was competing in his 350th Grand Prix, had a hard time. The choice of tires turned out to be costly. Even Mercedes colleague George Russell felt held up behind Hamilton. The record champion wasn’t able to achieve more than sixth place. A disappointment after third place on Saturday, especially since Russell came fourth in the race. Alex Albon parked his Williams because the drive unit was overheating. His colleague, Formula 1 newcomer Franco Colapinto, impressed the competition again in his third Grand Prix. “He’s very good,” reported Sergio Pérez (Red Bull), “hard to overtake, this Colapinto.” The Argentine, who recently replaced the hapless American Logan Sargeant, arrived in eleventh place. He, the newcomer, is suddenly one of the hottest contenders for a place at Sauber (Audi from 2026). This is the only place where there is still a vacancy as a Formula 1 driver next year. After the first third of the race, Norris was 15 seconds ahead of Verstappen. At times the Briton needed a second less per lap than the Dutchman, whose fans were shouting him forward. Among the 80,000 in the stands there were apparently quite a few who had paid 170 Singapore dollars (118 euros) for the right polo shirt in the nearby shopping temple on Raffles Boulevard. Or at least the equivalent of 62 euros for the Verstappen cap. Sooner or later all teams speculated on an accident and neutralization. But for the first time in the history of the Singapore night race, the safety car didn’t have to be deployed and everyone was safe. Almost all. At half-time, the alarm went to Norris: “I may have some damage to the front wing,” reported the leader. In one of the 90-degree bends, taken in second gear at 65 km/h, Norris slipped slightly into the barrier that always lurks near the ideal line in Singapore. “We see a small problem,” Norris heard, “nothing serious.” Norris’ service went smoothly, he led ahead of Verstappen and Piastri, who the strategy pushed forward. Max Verstappen continues to lead the World Cup standings.AFPBut it wasn’t over yet. With 17 laps to go, Norris hit the wall again, this time on the right back. “Full concentration now,” the engineer warned him: “Take a drink.” Norris found himself and reduced the gap to Verstappen in the overall standings to 52 points. But the final point was made by someone else. Daniel Ricciardo, who was about to be recalled from Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls, set the fastest time at the last second and snatched the extra point from Norris. Verstappen was happy about that. “Thank you, Daniel!” he radioed from the cockpit. In Formula 1 in 2024, every point really counts.
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