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Lando Norris wins his third System One race of the season, taking the Singapore Grand Prix 20 seconds forward of Max Verstappen.
This narrows the driving force championship hole to 52 factors, with Verstappen nonetheless within the lead.
Norris was nonetheless main by the tip of Lap 1, and he started constructing a niche to Verstappen, getting over 11.5 seconds clear by Lap 17. However behind the leaders firstly, it was a messy Flip 1 as quite a few vehicles ran vast. Franco Colapinto divebombed his method into the highest 10, a spot he held till he pitted on Lap 30. Sergio Pérez struggled to move him for a time period.
“He’s excellent,” the Crimson Bull driver stated over the radio on Lap 16. “Tough to move, Colapinto.”
It grew to become evident through the early levels of the Singapore GP that the undercut was trying robust. That is when a automobile pits earlier than these in entrance to achieve a bonus.
Lewis Hamilton was among the many first frontrunners to pit, swapping his tender tires for exhausting tires on Lap 19. However he later stated over the radio that he felt they’d have hassle in a while, including that he was already combating the exhausting tire by lap 23. The Singapore GP is historically a one-stop race until the race is neutralized.
It appeared like it might be a runaway for Norris, who was constructing a notable lead. However by round Lap 30, he reported over the radio that he had entrance wing harm and commenced slowing. Nevertheless, when he pulled into the pits, McLaren didn’t change his entrance wing — it simply tweaked the setup and swapped the medium tires for the exhausting compound. Norris was later advised over the radio that it was a “small subject however nothing critical.”
All eyes fell on Oscar Piastri because the race reached the center levels. George Russell pitted on Lap 29, and the McLaren driver lurked behind him. Piastri started taking trip of Verstappen’s laps, transferring into second because the Dutchman pitted. However the McLaren driver may really feel his tires dropping off, lastly pitting for exhausting tires on Lap 39. It was a late pit cease, a daring transfer by McLaren at a monitor the place overtaking could be troublesome. However he had a notable tire offset.
Piastri emerged from the pits behind the Mercedes duo and wasted no time passing Hamilton. He started searching down Russell for the ultimate podium place, nailing the overtake on Lap 45 at Flip 4 as he took the great distance across the Silver Arrow.
The race settled from there. Norris had an in depth name when he clipped the wall, the identical place the place Russell crashed final yr, however he put collectively a quickest lap shortly after, almost two seconds faster than Verstappen’s earlier lap. In the meantime, Pérez reported over the radio that he had no traction and was “bouncing like a kangaroo.”
Colapinto was proper on his tail, placing the Crimson Bull beneath stress, however the Williams driver finally completed exterior of factors, by no means getting round Pérez.
In a twist on the finish, Daniel Ricciardo pitted for a 3rd time within the last few laps, swapping for a set of soppy tires. He was flying, and on the time, Norris had the race’s quickest lap. Ricciardo as a substitute took the quickest lap, spoiling Norris’ likelihood at his first grand slam.
📻 GP: “Your outdated pal Daniel acquired the quickest lap on the finish there as effectively.”
📻 Verstappen: “Thanks, Daniel.”#F1 #SingaporeGP
— Luke Smith (@LukeSmithF1) September 22, 2024
Right here’s how the highest 10 completed:
Lando Norris
Max Verstappen
Oscar Piastri
George Russell
Charles Leclerc
Lewis Hamilton
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso
Nico Hülkenberg
Sergio Pérez
This can be a creating story.
Prime photograph: Mark Thompson/Getty Photos
